NEED TO KNOW
- One of King Charles’ royal residences announced an unexpected update
- Some of the Sandringham Estate is closed to the public
- The Met Office has a yellow warning in place for Sandringham House, the estate’s grand manor
King Charles‘ estate where the royal family recently celebrated Christmas just made an unexpected announcement.
On Jan. 5, Sandringham Estate released a statement about a schedule change at the royal residence in Norfolk.
“Due to the current weather conditions, we may close the Courtyard Facilities early today. The Children’s Play Area is closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding,” said the message shared to its Instagram Stories.
As of Jan. 6, the same memo was also displayed on Sandringham’s official website.
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The update came as the Met Office, the national weather and climate service of the U.K., reported that Monday night was “the coldest night of the winter so far” in the local area, with a yellow warning in place for Tuesday into Wednesday at Sandringham House.
“Icy patches overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning could lead to some disruption,” the message said.
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Located roughly 100 miles north of London, the Sandringham Estate is the royal family’s private country retreat in Norfolk. The late Queen Elizabeth spent her winter months there and opened Sandringham House, its grand manor, to the public in 1977.
The British royal family has celebrated Christmas at Sandringham for generations, and royal watchers look forward to seeing them step out for church at the nearby St. Mary Magdalene on the holiday.
King Charles, 77, continued the tradition two weeks ago on Christmas Day, where he and Queen Camilla led the outing that Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and more royal family members attended.
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Sandringham isn’t the only royal residence whose visiting hours have been affected by the chilly weather, as Balmoral Castle in Scotland also reportedly closed early due to snow.
The royal family’s summer escape in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was unexpectedly closed from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4 due to winter weather conditions and an active weather warning, and announced on Jan. 5 that the castle grounds, gift shop and restaurant will be officially closed until Jan. 28.
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According to Hello! magazine, Balmoral usually shuts for the season around now, but it was forced to close a few days early because of the snow.
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