Zara Tindall, 35, Her Majesty and Prince Philip’s oldest granddaughter, has spoken about Christmas with the Royal Family to Country Living Magazine.
Zara told Country Living, “Having all the generations of my family together at Christmas is my favourite part of the season.”
She continued, “It’s a time of year that is about being with people you love, great food and loads of games to play.”
The daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips loves the festive time of year and cannot wait to be reunited with her family at Sandringham. She explained that Christmas takes on a whole new meaning once you have children.
“Christmas takes on a new magic when you have children,” Zara told the magazine. Her daughter, Mia, with husband Mike, will turn three-years-old on 17 January.
She mentioned that Mia has started to understand the holiday and was looking forward to playing with her young cousins, “Mia will share this Christmas with lots of her cousins, some very close in age to her, and I think this year will be the one when she really starts to understand it all.”
Mia will have no shortage of cousins to play with while at Sandringham with Prince George, 3, Princess Charlotte, 1, Savannah Phillips, 5, Isla Phillips, 4, Lady Louise, 13, and James, Viscount Severn, 8. James will turn nine just a few days before Christmas. The seven cousins were featured in a photo with The Queen earlier this year in celebration of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
Christmas is filled with traditions for the Royal Family. There is a pre-Christmas family lunch at Buckingham Palace a few days before the holiday for Her Majesty and her extended family. Her immediate family, which includes her niece, Lady Sarah Chatto and nephew, Viscount Linley and their children, spend Christmas at Sandringham. They open their gifts on Christmas Eve and attend church on Christmas morning at St Mary Magdalene Church where many wait to catch a glimpse of the royals and present them with flowers. They then return to Sandringham for lunch and to watch Her Majesty’s Christmas speech.