Sandringham House: A Royal Retreat

Sandringham House
© Elwyn Thomas Roddick

Sandringham House, in Norfolk, has been privately owned by the British Royal Family for four generations. Built in 1870 by the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), it lies within the Royal Sandringham Estate - 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of land near the village of Sandringham.

Sandringham House is a regular and favourite country retreat of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who spend every Christmas there surrounded by other members of the royal family. On Christmas morning hundreds of royal fans gather to get a glimpse of the family members as they attend the service at the small church that lies on the estate. Last Christmas (2011) was the first Christmas together as a married couple for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Prince William and Kate Middleton) - see picture below.

Christmas Day 2011
© Richard Humphrey

In 1968 part of the Sandringham Estate was designated a Country Park. Today nearly 243 hectares are freely open to the public

The Sandringham House gardens were opened to the public by King Edward VII in 1908, and the Museum (which has displays of royal life and the estate's history) by King George V in 1930. Sandringham House itself was opened to the public at the Queen's wish in 1977, her Silver Jubilee year.

The Royal Sandringham Estate lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

For more information about Sandringham House and the Sandingham Estate click here

The photographs used in this blog licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence