Royal Christmas decorations are always a sight to behold, with towering trees and thousands of fairy lights a staple every year, but some ornaments are more sentimental than others.
Sarah Ferguson is the latest member of the royal family to reveal her heartfelt decorations which pay tribute to her daughter Princess Eugenie's son, but she's not the only one who has kept loved ones at the forefront of her mind over the festive period. She joins the likes of Princess Kate and Queen Camilla who have also shown off meaningful ornaments in the past.
From Corgis to Paddington Bears, look back at the most heartfelt royal Christmas decorations.
Sarah Ferguson's tribute to grandson
To promote her book Tale of Tails, Sarah, the Duchess of York shared a picture of a Christmas ornament of one character – a snail called Augustus – hanging on a red ribbon on the tree. On the back, the name 'Augustus' was written in red writing, which appears to be inspired by her two-year-old grandson August Philip Hawke Brooksbank's name.
"Well, hello Augustus. I am so excited to introduce you to my new children’s book ‘Tale of Tails,’ which is coming out next year with wonderful illustrations by Frank Endersby and bauble production by Sonya at CherishedGifts Co," she wrote on Instagram.
Princess Kate's Paddington Bears
The Princess of Wales held her second annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey in December 2022, just three months after Queen Elizabeth II died.
Among the beautiful Christmas trees sourced from Windsor Great Park and donated by His Majesty The King, Kate ensured there were some special additions in honour of the late Queen – mini Paddington bears and Paddington bear baubles.
Her late Majesty became linked to Paddington Bear following a comedy video filmed for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Meghan Markle's Queen Elizabeth II bauble
The Duchess of Sussex bought a sentimental gift for Prince Harry for their first Christmas at their home in America in 2020. After exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve – as is tradition for the royals – Prince Harry explained in his book Spare: "One present was a little Christmas ornament of...the Queen! I roared. What the—? Meg had spotted it in a local store and thought I might like it. I held it to the light. It was Granny’s face to a T.
"I hung it on an eye-level branch. It made me happy to see her there. It made Meg and me smile."
He continued that their son Prince Archie, then 19 months old, sadly suffered an accident with the tree. "But then Archie, playing around the tree, jostled the stand, shook the tree, and Granny fell. I heard a smash and turned. Pieces lay all over the floor.
"I grabbed a dustpan and swept up the pieces, all the while thinking: This is weird."
Queen Camilla's children's tree
In the past, Queen Camilla has called on young children to help decorate her Christmas trees. In 2020, she invited nine children supported by Helen & Douglas House hospice in Oxfordshire to decorate the tree virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The finished result was personalised ornaments with embellishments and hand-written names hanging from the branches.
King Charles' corgis
King Charles decked out Highgrove House with some very unusual decorations in 2020. He chose to forego traditional baubles and ribbons that the royals tend to adorn their tree with, and replaced them with intricate, embroidered decorations in the shape of champagne glasses, deer and a Corgi.
The latter was known to be a favourite of his late mother Queen Elizabeth, who is thought to have owned at least 30 Corgis throughout her 70-year reign.
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