Catherine follows tradition of royals seeking refuge at Sandringham

Refuge, rest, recovery – the Princess of Wales is taking much needed R&R at Sandringham.

As the Princess of Wales recuperates at her Sandringham home, following the announcement of her cancer diagnosis last weekend, she’s following a tradition of royals seeking refuge on the Norfolk estate.

Sandringham has long been a place of healing, for everyone from the King to the late Queen and Prince Philip. The estate, in Norfolk, a rural region in the east of England, is just far enough away to find peace, but not so far as to be inaccessible for trips to London for treatment.

Around 180km and three hours by car from the capital – or a short hop by helicopter – Sandringham Estate is in the northern part of Norfolk. The royal family bought it in 1862 and the main house was rebuilt soon after.

A working farm, it sits on a 20,000-acre estate and although the house and gardens are only open to the public at set times, the wider grounds are open to roam.

Bought for Edward VII as a 21st present when he was Prince of Wales, it has been beloved by generation after generation of the royal family.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, chats with well-wishers after attending the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in 2023. The princess is now recuperating at her Sandringham home, following the recent announcement of her cancer diagnosis. Picture: Adrian Dennis/AFP

Edward VII’s son, George V, described it as, “Dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere else in the world,” and the late Queen’s father, George VI, wrote, “I have always been happy here and I love the place.”

Both died there and while February 6, 1952, was the date the late Queen acceded the throne, to her it was always a day of mourning.

Sandringham Hall. This Jacobean country house is surrounded by 20,000 acres of Norfolk parkland. Picture: David Goddard/Getty Images

“It is a day that, even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George VI, as for the start of my reign,” she said in 2022.

Such was her lasting grief, every year, after a family Christmas, the Queen would remain in Sandringham until her father’s anniversary, often in the smaller five-bedroom Wood Farm, which is quite a distance from the main house.

Prince Philip also loved the estate and so when the time came for him to retire, in 2017, aged 96, he decided to move to Wood Farm.

It had also been the home of Prince John, youngest son of George V and Queen Mary, who suffered epilepsy and died there in 1919, aged 13.

“When Sandringham House is open to the public, the family chooses to use Wood Farm,” says royal biographer Ingrid Seward, explaining the remote farmhouse is down a long drive, surrounded by farmland.

Philip spent his final years there, reading, cooking for himself and driving at high speed around the estate, until he crashed into another vehicle in 2019, when he was 97. He only moved back to Windsor in 2020, because of the pandemic.

Anmer Hall, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Georgian house on Sandringham Estate, is not far from the beach. Picture: Kate Rowswell

Now owned by the King, Sandringham provided the refuge for the monarch on his cancer diagnosis in February and he based himself in Norfolk for his recovery, travelling to and from London for treatment.

“It was one of the late Queen’s favourite homes and … the King loves Sandringham as well,” ex-royal butler Grant Harrold revealed, describing it as a cross between a “family home and a museum”.

While it has cosy interiors, it is full of an eclectic mix of treasures from its former residents, such as the Faberge egg collection of Queen Alexandra, which not every visitor – including Diana, who hated her Christmases in the house – appreciated.

The King has reportedly been busy redecorating during his convalescence, and putting in new “health garden” of “healing yew tree hedging” and other plants in front of the house.

So, it’s no surprise Catherine also retreated to her Norfolk home, to spend time with her family, away from the public eye.

“The Prince and Princess of Wales are both enormously touched by the kind messages from people here in the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world,” Kensington Palace said last Saturday, the day after Catherine’s cancer announcement.

“They are extremely moved by the public’s warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time.”

The location the family has chosen for that privacy is Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom Georgian house on the estate. It was given to the couple by the Queen as a wedding present, in 2011. Anmer was where the Wales’ based themselves when first married and during lockdown, and is the place they retreat to during school holidays.

Not far from the beach, although the Norfolk coast is popular with British holiday-makers during the summer, Sandringham itself affords the royals a lot of privacy, because locals tend to keep themselves to themselves.

This region of Norfolk is down-to-earth. Much like Balmoral in Scotland, it is a proper country retreat, somewhere locals are unfussed, unlike showier regions of Britain, like the Cotswolds, packed with celebrity residents.

Which all goes to explain why the Windsors wend their way to Sandringham so often, even when they have many other homes to choose from.

One local, Sara, who lives nearby, tells The Sunday Telegraph residents aren’t fussed by their royal neighbours. “We leave them alone,” she says. Sounds perfect.

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