Sandringham House
Sandringham House is situated in the county of Norfolk and is privately owned by the Queen. As a country house it has been the private home of four generations of Sovereigns since 1862. Sandringham, like Balmoral Castle, is hold privately and not as a sovereign by Elizabeth II. It is commercially run by the Land Agent on Her behalf. Sandringham consists of commercial as well as residental properties. While about 50% is led to farm tenants the rest is being farmed in hand or used for forestry. Sandringham is well-known for it’s fruit farms and studs.
Compared to other royal residences Sandringham has a rather short history. In 1861 Queen Victoria and her husband Albert decided to purchase an estate for their eldest son Albert Edward Prince of Wales, who later reigned as Edward VII., which should function as retreat for the young man, away from the distractions of the city. When Prince Albert died from typhoid in December 1861 it was left up to Albert Edward to decide whether to purchase the country house or not. Finally the estate with all the furnishings was bought for around £ 220000 and functioned as new residence for Albert Edward and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who he had married in March 1863.
The newly-wed couple had the house extended and made several improvements to the estate. New roads had been constructed and the landscaping and cottages rebuilt. In order to accommodate the famous Norwich Gates a new garden wall was built. When it turned out that the existing house was neither suitable for larger feasts and social gatherings nor for a growing family, the Prince of Wales ordered a complete reshaping under the architect A.J. Humbert in the years between 1867 and 1870.
“Architecturally, like most buildings commissioned by the royal family in the nineteenth century, Sandringham is not outstanding; its interest and importance lies in its royal ownership and its survival, virtually unchanged, as an example of a country house estate of the Edwardian era.”(Jones 247) Although the style of the estate, built of red brick with pale Ketton stone details, has been referred to as “Jacobethean”, a mix of architectural elements from the Elizabethan sixteenth century and the Jacobean era of the early seventeenth century, some of the characteristics like the bay windows, towers, tall chimneys and turrets are examples of pure mid-Victorian times.
During the reign of King George V. a new tradition emerged at Sandringham. In 1932 the first Christmas-day broadcast to the Empire was made from the business-room and it was in 1957 when Elizabeth II. chose Sandringham’s library as location for her first televised broadcast.
The Royal Family’s attachment to the country retreat has remained strong and therefore it is Sandringham House where Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family regularly spend Christmas.
Jones, Nigel R. Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales Westport (Reference Guides to National Architecture). Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005.