MERRY CHRISTMAS, MA’AM!

When it comes to Christmas, Her Majesty The Queen cer tainly knows how to celebrate. She has loved the festive season since she was a little girl and today looks for ward to it just as much as ever – as do the rest of the family!

Her Majesty will this year be involved in Christmas celebrations for the 94th time. Yes, really!

Her parents lived in London at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair – a house since demolished and turned into a Chinese restaurant.

The family moved when she was just a few months old to 145 Piccadilly. Here they remained until they suddenly became the Royal Family in 1936 and moved to Buckingham Palace.

Those early Christmases often meant spending time at Sandringham. Her Majesty’s grandfather, George V, loved to be host there and once described it as “dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere else in the world”.

Her Majesty also loved Sandringham from the day of her first visit – and especially for the festive season when she liked nothing better than to climb onto her grandad’s knee and sing Christmas carols with him.

Her Majesty will only vaguely recall those early festivities, of course, but these days she still loves the fact that all the family gather together at Sandringham. While there are formal times there are also many informal occasions. The same Christmas carols are sung that meant so much to her when she was a little girl who did not know then what a huge future awaited her.

One thing that has never changed is that amazingly warm and genuine smile that Her Majesty cannot suppress when something delights her. She does indeed smile a great deal at Christmas – probably never more so than when the presents are handed out, traditionally on Christmas Eve at six in the evening. Look at the clock on that day at that time, and you will know exactly what the Royal Family are doing.

There is usually a light snack of scones along with tea, Earl Grey being favoured by many. Then it is down to business, and the whole family gather in the Sandringham drawing room.

The Queen personally organises and directs the gift presentations – not for the sake of formality or to avoid a melée, but simply because ever yone wants to see what ever yone else has been given.

Why? Because these gifts are not what you might expect – they are jokes. Formal and expensive gifts can be given at any time of the year, so this is a time for fun. Ornamental toilet roll holders have been eagerly unwrapped in past years, along with numerous other quirky presents.

Yes, even Her Majesty is a victim of the humour and eagerly looks for ward to what her joke gifts will be this year. Perhaps there might even be a comic face mask among this year’s pile of parcels on the drawing room tables.

It has not been an easy year for people around the world, and that includes the Royal Family. They have seen many of their favourite annual events cancelled and have also had to take the same precautions as ever yone else.

Then of course there was the headline-making departure of Harry and Meghan, who have relocated with their young son Archie to the US. Their absence will be a note of sadness at Sandringham this year.

Even at 94, however, Her Majesty’s sense of fun has never changed and whenever there has been a year of sadness she pulls out all the stops to make sure Christmas is as good as it can be. Not just for her own family but for many others too – the staf f, the neighbours, charities and schools.

In her festive messages the Queen always wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a ver y Happy New Year – and we can be assured she means ever y word.