Getting ready for the holidays can be great fun. Taking down the decorations once the holidays are over, not so much fun. If you are someone who tends to leave your decorations up for far too long, you are in good company. As it turns out, Queen Elizabeth II doesn’t take her decorations down until at least February 6.
According to a report from Travel + Leisure, the Queen and Prince Philip stay at their country residence in Norfolk, Sandringham House, for the holidays. When King George VI passed away on Feb 6, 1952, ownership of the estate passed to the queen. She has spent time a Sandringham every year to observe the anniversary of his death and allows the decorations to stay in place until she is back at Buckingham Palace.
HELLO! magazine reports that the decorations at Sandringham House are not nearly as big as those at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace. One thing that is different about Sandringham is that the royal family helps with the decorating. The royal website says that the Queen and other members of the royal family “usually put the final touches on their Christmas tree.”
Keeping up the Christmas decorations if only one of the ways that the Queen remembers her father’s legacy at that time of year. She also has maintained a tradition from her father and grandfather of gifting some 1,500 Christmas puddings to her staff, police, and workers at the Post Office. This isn’t the creamy pudding you might expect if you live in the United States. It is a spiced fruit cake and each of them comes with a greeting card from the Queen and Prince Philip.