Finding inspiration for the holidays? Three months before Christmas, a clear description of how the royal family celebrates just in time for the countdown. Whether it’s turkey at the Christmas table or the introduction of decorated fir trees, much of the holiday affection comes from or is adopted by the royal family. There is now a royal collection of new books, “Royal Christmas” (published in October) .18, using the Royal Archives to display 150 items of celebration and legends.
The Christmas Tree
Although Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert has often suggested the idea of having an evergreen tree at the heart of the celebration, the practice has actually existed in the royal family for about 80 years. George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, grew up in Germany (like Albert), where they “decorate a yew” with decorations and gather there to exchange gifts. In Windsor, she “turned the ritual into a holiday spectacle, not only for family and friends, but also for the wider courtroom,” the writer louise coolant wrote.
Queen Elizabeth, who joked this year about her great-grandchildren enjoying “knocking” the ornaments off her tree, donates Christmas trees to schools and churches around Sandringham annually.
The Gifts
These days, members of the royal family often limit themselves to gifts. In 1532, he received a gift from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the woman he cared about: Anne Bolin (anneboleyn). He turned down the queen’s present and gave him Anne’s gift. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, will bring her fine jewelry. According to the book, what she valued most was a brooch with a enamel portrait of their first child, Victoria, given to her at Christmas in 1841. Victoria would write that it was “all his own thoughts and tastes.”
The Cards
Do you think you have a long vacation card? The Queen sends about 750 copies a year, signed “Elisabeth r and Philip,” and Prince Philip, 97, who usually features a family photo, has added 200 of her own regiment and other clubs. A royal Christmas showcases some of the early examples of family portraits they have used for decades to update family and friends-a practice pioneered by the Queen’s parents, George VI, (george vi), and Queen Elizabeth (queen elizabeth). More modestly they called the duke and duchess of York and raised the young princesses Elizabeth and (margaret).
The Feast
Roasted peacocks, in the first centuries of monarchy, appeared on the menu. There was also Brown, a “crockery made of pig’s head”, or grilled peppers, swans, and even a pie filled with eels, which the Gloucester gave to the monarch in the 11th century. Later, after the introduction of Henry II in the 12 th century, the head of a wild boar occupied the center of the stage at the royal table. Thankfully, tastes have changed for current family members-although boar heads still come from the next table. Plum soup has been popular since Charles I, including beef and veal, and plenty of port and rum (and fruit), replaced by plum pudding in the Victorian era and continues to this day.
The Entertainment
In Henry VIII’s time, the celebration was led by the hedonic king of chaos, starting on Christmas Eve and ending on January 6 th. His costumes were decorated with ribbons, bells and jewelry, and he would lead a large group of entertainers-even the king had to take orders from him in entertainment. These days, it is the royal family who likes to dress up and perform. The book contains photographs of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in December 1943 at Windsor Castle wearing Aladdin clothes for their parents and royalty. The show, which was watched four years before Prince Philippe’s marriage to Elizabeth, included “topic references” and “joke teasing.”
The following year, the young royals were even more ambitious, acting against an Oscar-winning art director Vincent Koda’s Old Mother’s Red Horse Boots. They collected admission fees from the royal family and today raised $390 for charity. Royal Christmas ($13.20) will be received from the Royal Collection Trust on October 18.
