On January 6 1926, the papers reported that King George V and Queen Mary would be staying at Sandringham through the early part of the year but that their Christmas festivities were over. And they had said farewell to some rather regal guests as their holidays ended. For they had spent the season with the King and Queen of Norway.
This rather royal house party had its origins in family and was also all about siblings being together in a time of need. For the Queen of Norway, Maud, was the youngest sister of King George V and with them over the festive period had been another sister, Princess Victoria. All three were in mourning - just a month before Christmas, they had lost their mother, Queen Alexandra.
The Bystander reported on January 6 that ''The Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Henry, the King and Queen of Norway with Prince Olaf, and Princess Victoria kept their Christmas with the King and Queen''. It would turn out to be an extremely royal event for every person on that list, bar Henry and Victoria, would at some point be a king or queen.
The Duchess of York retired from public engagements at the end of 1925
The Prince of Wales became Edward VIII while Prince Olaf, then aged 23, would become King of Norway on the death of his father, Haakon VII. The Duke and Duchess of York would become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when Edward VIII abdicated. And, as other papers were reporting on January 6, the then Duchess of York was taking on no public engagements ''for the happiest of reasons''. She was expecting her first baby. In April 1926, she gave birth to a girl who grew up to become Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Victoria was a sister of King George V and Queen Maud of Norway
The pregnancy of the Duchess of York had been a happy note for a family in mourning. The paper also reported that Queen Alexandra, who died on November 20 1925 at Sandringham, had taken the care to leave Christmas presents ready for all her family. As The Bystander noted ''the mourning for Queen Alexandra naturally prevented all the usual Christmas festivities, and there was an especial sadness in the despatch of the gifts already chosen for many of her relations and friends.''
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