As families gather to celebrate Christmas, many are bracing themselves for festive rows, which have become as much of a holiday tradition as decorating trees and exchanging gifts.
A study by British Gas found that 43 percent of Brits are bracing themselves family arguments this year, while a third claim that the festive period “wouldn’t be the same” without rows with relatives.
According to Palace insiders, the Royals are no different when it comes to festive fights. Tensions have boiled over on numerous occasions at Sandringham estate, as strong characters and greater public scrutiny gives the family plenty of ammunition for Christmas confrontations.
Charles and Edward fight over the best bedroom
Despite Sandringham containing an estimated 29 bedrooms, the late Queen’s sons reportedly fought over the same one. In 1999 a recently single Charles was told that, following his divorce from Princess Diana, he must give up his favourite suite of rooms to his brother Edward, who had recently married Sophie Rhys-Jones, The Daily Mail reports.
Famous for his dependency on creature comforts, Charles was certainly not happy about the prospect of surrendering his much-loved bedroom. But royal rules dictate that ladies have an automatic claim to a dressing room instead of single men – even if that person is heir to the throne.
Charles may have passed over the room to his younger brother, but he eventually got his own back in 2005 when he married Camilla and was allowed to reclaim the contested spot.
Queen’s favourite corgi killed by Princess Anne’s dog
The late Queen’s corgis were so dear to her that they became an emblem of the royal family, with one insider explaining that the dogs were “almost like children to her”.
But this special status could not protect the corgis from harm, as the Queen’s favourite dog Pharos discovered in 2003, as stated in previous reports. Just moments after arriving at Sandringham for the holiday, Princess Anne’s own bull terrier Florence savaged the ageing corgi. Footmen helped to release Pharos from its attackers jaws, but he was so badly hurt he had to be put down.
One aide told The Daily Mail: “There was blood everywhere. The poor corgi was howling and there was nothing HM or the princess could do to get the terrier off. It sank its teeth in and shook the corgi around.”
Insiders claimed that the Queen was “shocked, upset and saddened” by the Christmas attack, casting a serious shadow over the family’s festive celebrations.
Diana absent and Fergie banned after marriage bombshells
In 1992 the Windsors gathered at Sandringham after a difficult year that saw not one but two marriage scandals rock the family. Prince Andrew and Fergie had split up, as had Charles and Diana, leaving love and understanding in seriously short supply for the family.
The news of Charles and Diana’s split was still raw, as it had only been made public to Parliament several weeks previously. With tensions still running high, Diana is said to have decided to avoid Christmas with the royals entirely, and spent the day with her brother the Earl of Spencer instead.
Ten-year-old William and eight-year-old Harry were left to unwrap their presents without their mother for the first time ever.
The Duchess of York was also noticeably absent, having reportedly been banned from attending after compromising pictures of her with her new lover had plunged the family in scandal. Prince Andrew and Fergie had announced their separation in March that year, but just five months later photographs of the redhead’s summer fling were published – showing a Texan millionaire sucking her toes at a holiday villa in St Tropez.
Although Fergie was allowed to hide away at Wood Farm, a cottage on the estate, Prince Philip is said to have objected to this compromise.
Monopoly banned because games become ‘vicious’
Like many Brits, the Royal Family are partial to a board game on Christmas day. But it seems that they are also victims of the intense competitiveness that the game generates. In 2008 Prince Andrew admitted that the Queen had banned Monopoly games for this reason.
When offered a version of the board game during a public visit, Andrew declined and explained “we are not allowed to play Monopoly at home”. He revealed that the rule was introduced because “it gets too vicious” between the highly competitive family members.
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