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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Zoe Forsey

Heartbreaking reason the Queen leaves her Christmas decorations up until February

Like everyone in the UK, the Queen's Christmas will be very different this year.

The royal family will have to follow the same government restrictions as everyone else as they celebrate on December 25 - however it's likely they'll do their best to keep as many of their traditions as possible.

Christmas is a huge occasion for the Monarch and her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and they normally travel to Sandringham to spend it together.

It's not yet known how they will spend it this year amid the Covid advice.

The stunning estate is usually filled with festive fun and merriment, and looks absolutely beautiful thanks to the stunning decorations.

The royal family all come together at Sandringham on Christmas Day (PA)

But while most of us pack up all that Christmas fun shortly after New Year's Eve, the Queen leaves her decorations up much later.

It's often considered bad luck to leave the decs up past January 6, but the Monarch has a very poignant reason for ignoring the suspicion.

The Queen always stays at Sandringham until February, as she likes to mark the anniversary of her late father's death there.

King George passed away at the Sandringham estate (Popperfoto/Getty Images)

King George VI died in his sleep at the estate on February 6, aged just 56.

And the estate's festive decorations stay up until the Queen and Philip leave - which is often a few days after.

The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, was just 25 when her father died and she became Queen.

She was in Kenya at the time, and Philip was the one who broke the devastating news to her.

The couple flew back to the UK and the young woman began her reign.

At the time of his death, the Queen wrote a heartfelt letter to her father's private secretary expressing her deep sorrow.

A young Queen Elizabeth wrote to Sir Eric Mievill a month after she became Queen, saying: “It all seems so unbelievable still that my father is no longer here and it is only after some time has passed one begins to realise how much he is missed.”

Handwritten on March 3, 1952, the letter was one of the first Elizabeth finished with her new signature as Queen – “Elizabeth R’”.

She wrote she was “thankful” her father died so peacefully and how husband Philip and children Charles, three and Anne, 18 months, were helping with her grief.

The moving message reads: “My mother and sister have been wonderful, for they have lost so much – I do have my own family to help me.”

George VI had to take over the throne suddenly following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, in 1936.

Despite the unexpected role, he worked hard to adapt and struggled through, particularly during the difficult years of World War Two.

The family's decision to stay in Britain during the war made them favourable with the public, and the King and Queen refused to leave Buckingham Palace.

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