Inside the biggest royal rows at Christmas: From banned board games to dog fights as 45 family members descend on Sandringham this year for the biggest-ever annual festivities

Most of us know that when a family comes together for Christmas, there are bound to be arguments, and the Royal Family is no different. 

Despite the Windsors dressing in expensive gowns and dinner jackets when they sit down to be served dinner by a small army of servants, they have fallouts just like everyone else.

Over the years the annual festivities at their grand estate of Sandringham in Norfolk have produced a series of clashes over traditional issues such as board games and bedrooms, to more serious family issues.

This year’s festivities promise to be a doozy as with 45 guests, it will be the biggest Windsor Christmas ever held on the estate. 

But with a greater number of people, the greater the chances that there could be some falling out amongst the noble family.

The 1990s were plagued by the frosty years of Charles and Diana both coming along for the sake of their sons William and Harry, despite their marriage having disastrously come to an end.

In more recent years awkwardness has stemmed from rows over all manner of things, from Princess Anne’s rogue dog to Christmas trees gone wrong.

And yet, as with every other family, it will be impossible to banish the ghosts of Christmases past — after all, isn’t nostalgia at the very heart of Christmas family gatherings? 

Here MailOnline looks back through all the holiday ding-dongs and remembers that nobody does festive family bust-ups quite like the royals. 

The row between Charles and Edward over who gets the best bedroom 

One dollop of seasonal ill-will that regularly descended on Sandringham at Christmas were disputes over who gets the best spot in the house.

Despite an estimated 29 bedrooms and over 100 rooms to choose from, it seems the Queen’s sons clashed over who got the best one.   

When Charles was told in 1999 that he would have to yield up his favourite suite of rooms to his newly married younger brother, Edward, things started to get ugly.

The reason was that Charles was now single, following his divorce from Diana in 1996, and didn’t need the extra space, while the then Earl and Countess of Wessex did. 

Charles, who has a deep need for his creature comforts, was furious, but the Queen’s rules at the Christmas gathering, where space can be tight, have to be obeyed. 

Royal ladies have an automatic right to a dressing room, and single men — even those who are heir to the throne — must give way. 

There is a practical reason behind this. Royal ladies have to bring a range of outfits, often changing several times a day. 

They also have to wear something different each evening, while the men wear black tie.

But Charles got his own back in 2005 after he married Camilla, as he was able to reclaim his favourite room, with a retired courtier telling Richard Kay he was ‘especially happy’ that year.

Monopoly gets banned after games become ‘too vicious’

Just like normal families up and down the country, the Royal Family are partial to some board games on Christmas Day.

But one game in particular seemed to be such a prolific source of arguments it had to be banned by the late Queen – Monopoly.

Prince Andrew, Duke of York, let the secret slip in 2008 when he was handed a version of the board game while visiting Leeds Building Society’s headquarters. 

He declined the gift as ‘we are not allowed to play Monopoly at home’. He went on to say ‘it gets too vicious’ with the competitive royals trying to outdo each other.

Further insight into the royal’s competitive streak was gained in September 2023 when William and Kate, alongside Princess Anne, joined former England rugby ace Mike Tindall, who is married to Zara, the Princess Royal’s daughter for an episode of his show The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.

One of the presenters said: ‘I’m not going to lie…but Mike has made out both of you are super, super competitive, a bit like Monica from Friends, and if you guys play table tennis it will go on for hours and hours, and be like, double or quits.’

To which Kate replied: ‘I’m really not that competitive, I don’t know where this has come from.’

She then joked that she and William have never managed to finish a game of tennis, giggling as she explained that ‘it becomes a mental challenge between the two of us’.

Mike then asked if the couple’s three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, are showing signs of competitiveness.

Princess Anne interjected to say: ‘Just a little bit, I would suggest.’

The glum 1992 gathering following the Queen’s ‘annus horribilis’

One of the worst family Christmases on record for the Windsors came at the end of the Queen’s ‘annus horribilis’ in 1992.

It was an extraordinarily bad year in which Windsor Castle was severely damaged by fire, and Andrew and Fergie had split up. 

But to cap it all, barely a fortnight before Christmas, the then Prime Minister John Major had announced in the House of Commons that Charles and Princess Diana had separated.

The slew of disasters meant there was precious little good cheer that year as the family gathered at Sandringham.

Charles and the young William and Harry were there, of course, but there was no sign of Diana as the roast Norfolk turkey was served for Christmas lunch which, as ever, lasted barely an hour. 

It was the first year William, ten, and Harry, eight, had unwrapped their presents without their mother. 

Instead of being with the royals, a miserable Diana spent Christmas with her brother, Charles — Earl Spencer — at their family home, Althorp, in Northamptonshire.

The Duchess of York wasn’t there, either. After some highly publicised romantic adventures, she wasn’t welcome, especially in the eyes of Prince Philip. 

But she wasn’t far away, having been given the use of Wood Farm, a cottage on the estate. Philip found even this hard to stomach, according to the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay.

So, while the grown-ups did their best to generate the Christmas atmosphere expected by children, no one could call it a merry Christmas, and it was no surprise when, in her Commonwealth broadcast, the Queen spoke of the ‘difficult days’ that had afflicted her family, adding that there was no miracle formula for transforming sorrow into happiness. 

Queen’s favourite corgi dies after being savaged by Princess Anne’s bull terrier

Anyone who knew the late Queen knew how important her corgis were to her, with one senior figure describing them as ‘almost like children to her’.

And one ageing corgi in particular, Pharos, was said to be her favourite, but his life was cut short after he was savaged to death by Princess Anne’s bull terrier in 2003.

The dog, called Florence, launched a ferocious attack within moments of arriving at Sandringham.

Pharos had no chance of escape after the terrier’s powerful jaws clamped on one of his back legs. 

Footmen helped Anne and the Queen pull the dogs apart, but Pharos was so badly hurt he had to be put down. 

‘It was an incredibly distressing sight,’ said one aide. 

‘There was blood everywhere. The poor corgi was howling and there was nothing HM or the princess could do to get the terrier off. It sank its teeth in and shook the corgi around.’ 

Insiders at the time said the Queen was ‘shocked, upset and saddened’ by the brutal attack.

Following the savage affair, Christmas became decidedly muted, with Princess Anne firmly in the doghouse after her pet’s rampage. 

Christmas tree falls over after it has been decorated by the Queen

Sandringham at Christmas is known for its grand decorations throughout the estate.

But perhaps no ornament gives more festive cheers than the 20ft-tall Christmas tree in the White Drawing Room, where the Queen presides over the traditional German custom of handing out presents on Christmas Eve.

But it all went wrong for the mighty tree in 2008 after it toppled over.

Just like a scene from TV’s humorous home video show You’ve Been Framed, it came crashing down in a mess of needles and shattered baubles just 30 minutes before the Queen — who had helped to decorate it — was due to walk in.

A servant, poor chap, had tripped and fallen into it during final preparations.

Although this is one episode that the Royal Family can at least laugh about, not all Christmas bust-ups are remembered so fondly.