英女王私人莊園不夠住 王室成員傭人房裏過聖誕

Her Majesty has invited the largest gathering in decades to celebrate Prince George’s first Christmas, meaning her frantic staff will have to put some visitors in servants’ rooms.

Although even with some 30 of her nearest and dearest arriving today, the Queen still could find no room for Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

The Duke of York and his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are reportedly on the guest list, but their mother was left off.

Many who did get an invitation will have to share bedrooms, move to cottages on the estate or sleep in servants’ quarters.

It is quite a change from last year, when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent Christmas Day with Kate’s parents in Berkshire and Prince Harry was on duty in Afghanistan.

The year before, Prince Philip was in hospital for an operation.

Those likely to have servants’ rooms include the Queen’s nephew Viscount Linley, his wife Serena and their children. His sister Lady Sarah Chatto, her husband Daniel and children are also likely to be included.

They could be housed in what is known as the Bachelor Wing because it houses single male staff members, usually chefs and kitchen porters. The influx of guests could see them relegated to the footmen’s bedrooms.

A source said: ‘Sandringham is a large house but everyone will be crammed in like sardines. There are just so many young royals now with children and the numbers keep going up.

‘It’s great for the Queen but a nightmare to cater for.’

Sandringham House, in Norfolk, has been the private home of four generations of British monarchs since 1862.

Despite being set in 600 acres of woodland, the house is small by royal standards and quarters are said to be ‘cramped’.

The Queen will insist on guests joining her today. The family follow the German tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve before donning black tie for a candlelit banquet.

At 10pm, the women adjourn, leaving Prince Philip to serve port or brandy to the men.

On Christmas morning, they attend St Mary Magdalene, the church on the estate, before a turkey lunch at 1pm. They watch the Queen’s Christmas message on television before playing games.即使貴爲英國女王，有時也會煩惱“房子不夠住”。據英國《每日郵報》網站報道，當地時間12月23日，英女王伊麗莎白二世的私人府邸——位於諾福克郡的桑德林厄姆莊園——迎來參加聖誕聚會的王室成員。然而由於客房數量不夠，某些來賓不得不住進傭人房。

今年，小王子喬治將度過人生中的第一個聖誕節。爲此，小王子的曾祖母、伊麗莎白二世女王特意邀請了大約30位至親好友來到桑德林厄姆莊園共度聖誕，這也成爲多年來英國王室成員最大型的聚會。

不過，因爲莊園客房緊張，地位較低的王室成員將需要“拼房”、被安排住進莊園農舍或者傭人房。《每日郵報》稱，安德魯王子的前妻莎拉•弗格森、女王的外甥林利子爵一家，以及林利子爵的妹妹莎拉•查託一家可能“榜上有名”，“他們將會住進‘單身漢公寓’，這些房間平時供莊園裏的單身男性員工居住，通常是廚師或者廚房搬運工”。

早在1862年，桑德林厄姆莊園就成爲英國君主的私人府邸。儘管莊園佔地面積高達600英畝（約合243公頃），但按照王室標準，莊園的房屋建築面積並不大，用來居住的部分更是狹小。

“桑德林厄姆莊園很大，但今年住進莊園的人會擠得像罐頭裏的沙丁魚。這次，很多年輕的王室成員都帶着孩子，賓客的數量不斷增加。”一位熟悉莊園狀況的消息人士表示，“對於女王而言，這將是一場盛大的聖誕聚會。但在侍者看來，這是一場噩夢。”

按照安排，女王要求客人們在23日抵達莊園。平安夜時，王室成員將先拆開禮物，然後享用燭光晚宴，晚上10點左右，女士們離場，菲利普親王用波爾圖葡萄酒和白蘭地來招待男士。25日上午，王室成員將前往教堂，吃過火雞午餐後，他們會一起坐在電視機前觀看女王的聖誕致辭。

據悉，女王和丈夫菲利普親王將在桑德林厄姆莊園休假到明年2月份。