Why the Queen keeps her Christmas decorations up until February

Queen Elizabeth II has spent the festive period at Sandringham Estate since 1988

The festive period is well and truly over, and while the majority of families across the UK have already taken down their Christmas decorations, there is reportedly one person who won’t be following suit: the Queen.

The royal and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, have been spending Christmas at the Sandringham Estate since 1988, where they remain (with decorations in place) until 6 February – one month after Twelfth Night, when decorations typically come down.

While this tradition might seem unusual, there is a reason that the monarch allegedly asks for her decorations to be kept up until the day she returns to Buckingham Palace.

The date has a special significance to the Queen as it marks the day that her father, King George VI, passed away at Sandringham in 1952, when she was just 25-years-old.

To honour and commemorate his life in private, it has been widely reported that the Queen chooses to stay on the estate and keep the trees and decorations up to mark the anniversary.

The Queen and her father shared a special relationship. In a letter to her secretary in 1952 following his death, the Queen said: “It all seems so unbelievable still that my father is no longer here and it is only after some time has passed one begins to realise how much he is missed.”

The royal made a touching reference to King George VI in her annual Christmas broadcast, The Queen's Speech, as she referenced the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which was marked in 2019.

“This year we marked another important anniversary: D-Day. On June 6, 1944, some 156,000 British, Canadian and American forces landed in northern France,” she explained.

(From L to R): Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Mother, King George VI and Princess Margaret (Getty)

“It was the largest ever seabourne invasion and was delayed due to bad weather.

“I well remember the look of concern on my father’s face. He knew the secret D-Day plans but could of course share that burden with no one.”

The Sandringham Estate has been owned by the royal family since 1862, when it was purchased for one of Queen Victoria's sons, Albert Edward, who later became King Edward VII.