How Royal Residences Are Celebrating Christmas This Year — From Ice Skating to a Christmas Tree Maze Open to the Public

Mar. 15, 2025

Skaters take to the ice at night at the ice rink at Hampton Court on Nov. 29, 2014 in London, England.Photo:Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

Gone are the days when the only way one could experience Christmas with the royal family was to tune in to the monarch’s annual Christmas speech.

Earlier this year, both Buckingham Palace in London and Balmoral Castle in Scotland opened their doors to the public for the most intimate tours ever permitted. Now, with the Christmas season upon us, several royal residences are also open to varying degrees, including the grounds of the Sandringham Estate, where the royal family traditionally spends Christmas.

The public won’t be able to visit the house itself — the private home of four generations of British monarchs since 1862 — but between Nov. 21 and Dec. 24, visitors can follow a winter light trail called“Luminate”around the Norfolk estate.

Luminate light festival at Sandringham House in Norfolk.Bav Media/Shutterstock

Bav Media/Shutterstock

“The grounds have been transformed into a sparkly wonderland, glowing in all the colors of the rainbow thanks to thousands of lasers, strobes and twinkling lights,” CNN reported.

Windsor Castle’s Christmas decorations have gone up, including a 20-foot-high Nordmann fir tree located in St. George’s Hall. Visitors can take in the decor, including — for the first time — miniature Christmas decorations that have been added to a 100-year-old dolls’ house that used to belong to Queen Mary.

Royal Collection Trust staff add the finishing touches to a Christmas tree in St George’s Hall, during a photo call for Christmas decorations at Windsor Castle.Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty

Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty

The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace.EURASIA PRESS / Getty Images

A member of the Royal Collection Trust staff looks at a Christmas display in the Waterloo Chamber, during a photo call for Christmas decorations at Windsor Castle.Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty

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Royal household staff pose for a photograph next to a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle on Nov. 21, 2024 in Windsor, England.Peter Nicholls/Getty

Peter Nicholls/Getty

“While it can’t be described as a royal residence, three queens of England — including two unlucky wives of the aforementioned Henry VIII — did spend their final days there,” CNN reported.

source: people.com