5 Queen Elizabeth Christmas Traditions That Will Surely Surprise You

Queen Elizabeth II has odd Christmas traditions.

The monarch is very traditional. In fact, there are a number of things that she has been doing every holiday season in the past years. Here are Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas traditions that will surely surprise you, according to Insider.

1. Queen Elizabeth decorates the Christmas tree

Just like most families, Her Majesty is involved in decorating the royal family’s Christmas tree. The Queen and Prince Philip as well as the other members of the Firm have made it a tradition to “put the finishing touches to their Christmas tree themselves.”

2. Queen attends same Christmas Day church service

Every year the Queen attends the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene. She does this before she returns to Sandringham Estate where she stays during the holiday period. However, Queen Elizabeth II made a slight change in this tradition because historically monarchs would wear a crown when attending a church service on Christmas Day.

3. Royals’ Christmas dinner menu rarely changes

The royal family favors the traditional turkey for Christmas dinner. The inclusion of turkey in the menu has become popular in the 19th century due to Edward VII, who considered it his personal favorite.

“It was among the principal dishes served at a lavish banquet hosted by the then Prince of Wales on Christmas Day 1875 aboard HMS Serpis, moored in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). In the early twentieth century, turkey became the centerpiece of the Christmas meal, supplied for the royal table by one of the Sandringham Estate farms, a tradition which continues today,” Louise Cooling wrote in her book “A Royal Christmas.”

4. Queen sends Christmas cards

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip usually send out Christmas cards to celebrate the season. The same practice is followed by Prince William and Kate Middleton as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex used their engagement photo for their Christmas card but one netizen found it “spooky” because it was too similar to her wedding invite with ex-husband Trevor Engelson.

5. Annual Christmas broadcast

Every year, Queen Elizabeth II delivers a speech to the nation on Christmas Day. According to Katie Nicholl, this year, she might mention the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie as well as Princess Beatrice’s engagement.