Sandringham is a country estate used by the royal family of the United Kingdom. It is in the county of Norfolk, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) northeast of King’s Lynn. Sandringham Estate covers about 20,000 acres (8,100 hectares).
The Domesday Book of 1086—a record of property holders in England—included a settlement at “Sant Dersingham,” a name referring to the sandy part of the Dersingham area. The name was later shortened to Sandringham. Residences have stood on the site of the present Sandringham House since the late 1200’s.
In 1862, Queen Victoria purchased the estate as a country home for her son Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. The family soon decided to expand the residence on the site. Sandringham House was completed in 1870. A ballroom and expanded kitchen were completed in the 1880’s. Albert Edward became King Edward VII in 1901. George V succeeded Edward as king in 1910. King George and his wife, Queen Mary, developed and improved the estate’s gardens. George V died at Sandringham in 1936. His son George VI died there in 1952.
Queen Elizabeth II in 1968 set aside land for Sandringham Royal Park, now a 600-acre (243-hectare) expanse of heath and woodland on the estate. She opened the house and gardens to the public in 1977. In the 1980’s, she began a tradition of hosting Christmas at Sandringham.
