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
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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 (pictured) in Norfolk have produced a series of clashes over traditional issues such as board games and bedrooms, to more serious family issues]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/16/93125787-14190073-image-a-11_1734107028080.jpg)
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.
![[The Royal Family walks out after the Christmas Day service in December 1999]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/16/93125785-14190073-image-a-12_1734107036467.jpg)
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.
![[Prince Charles was left frustrated in 1999 after he was told he had to yield his favourite suite of rooms to his newly married younger brother, Edward (right)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/16/93125789-14190073-image-m-22_1734107160142.jpg)
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?.
![[One game in particular seemed to be such a prolific source of arguments it had to be banned by the late Queen - Monopoly]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/16/93125763-14190073-image-a-24_1734107276364.jpg)
Here MailOnline looks back through all the holiday ding-dongs and remembers that nobody does festive family bust-ups quite like the royals. Queen Elizabeth II stands in the music room of Buckingham Palace after recording her Christmas day message to the Commonwealth on December 2008.
![[William and Kate, alongside Princess Anne, joined former England rugby ace Mike Tindall, who is married to Zara, the Princess Royal's daughter, to appear in an episode of The Good, The Bad and The Rugby in September 2023]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/13/16/93125755-14190073-image-m-27_1734107286074.jpg)
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