Windsor Castle Is Decorated for Christmas, and It’s Beautiful

The royal family certainly knows how to deck the halls. Case in point: new photos of Windsor Castle, all dressed up for the Christmas season. Last week, while Americans were enjoying Thanksgiving dinner, Historic Royal Palaces decorated the nearly century-old royal residence for the holidays, putting up Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and festive garlands.

In addition to the impressive 20-foot-tall Norwegian spruce located in St George’s Hall, which requires two full days to decorate with thousands of lights and hundreds of ornaments, this year’s festive furnishings also include a display of costumes worn by Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret when they performed in holiday pantomimes during World War II.

These performances, which are said to have been Princess Margaret’s idea, were written and produced by Royal School headmaster, Hubert Tanner, one a year from 1941 to 1944. The first production was Cinderella, followed by Sleeping Beauty, and Aladdin, and the Old Mother Red Riding Boots. The two princesses performed alongside other pupils from their school, but naturally, they often took center stage in lead roles. For example, then-Princess Elizabeth played Prince Florizel in Cinderella, Prince Salvador in Sleeping Beauty, and the title role in Aladdin.

Per the Royal Collection Trust, “During the Second World War, The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) and Princess Margaret spent much of their time in Windsor, safely away from the bombing in London. Between 1941 and 1944 they performed in and helped to stage a series of Christmas pantomimes to raise money for the Royal Household Wool Fund, which supplied knitting wool to make comforters for soldiers fighting at the Front.”

From November 25 until January 31, 2022, six costumes worn by the Princess will be displayed in the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle, where the performances originally took place 80 years ago.

For more information on how to visit Windsor Castle this holiday season, including how to buy tickets, visit rct.uk.

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