Inside Sandringham – the King’s 20,000-acre Norfolk base during cancer treatment
King Charles is set to reside Sandringham Estate while he undergoes treatment for an unspecified cancer after his diagnosis was announced on Monday.
The monarch travelled to the private estate in Norfolk by helicopter from Buckingham Palace on Tuesday afternoon shortly after meeting with his estranged son Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
Charles and Queen Camilla reportedly landed at Sandringham just before 4.30pm on Tuesday, with the Royal Standard flying high to show the King is in residence.
Here’s what we know about Sandringham Estate.
Where is Sandringham Estate?
Sandringham Estate is a sprawling country estate located in Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is just south of the small village of Dersingham, about 44 miles north-west of Norwich and about 113 miles north of London.
What is its history?
Sandringham is a Grade II-listed house which has been privately owned by the Royal Family since being bought as a country home by Edward VII for £220,000 in 1862.
A large manor house has stood on the grounds since Elizabethan times, and was replaced by a Georgian mansion in 1771 before being almost completely rebuilt following its purchase by the Royal Family.
It was passed down to Edward’s son, George V, and then (following Edward VIII’s abdication) to Queen Elizabeth II‘s father George VI – who himself was born at York Cottage on the Estate’s grounds and also died at Sandringham House – before being handed down to the late Queen herself and then King Charles III when his mother died in September 2022.
Queen Elizabeth II delivered her first televised Christmas message from Sandringham in 1957, a quarter century after her grandfather, Edward VIII, delivered a first-ever Christmas broadcast from the house via radio.
Though no royals live permanently at the woodland Norfolk residence, it has traditionally been a preferred place for the King to spend Christmas and New Year’s.
The late Queen traditionally spent the anniversary of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne with her family at Sandringham, as well as a period between Christmas and February in many of her later years.
Following his treatment for an enlarged prostate last month, Charles also returned there to convalesce.
Sandringham is one of two homes owned by the sovereign in a private capacity – rather than as head of state – along with Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
What is the house like?
Sandringham House, the main property on the Sandringham Estate grounds, is a Jacobethan-style manor constructed mainly of red brick and limestone.
As of 2024, the estate is reportedly valued at around £60m.
Its main features, or principal rooms, include a saloon – the main reception room and largest room in the house, the entry to which is under a porte-cochère – a drawing room, a ballroom and a dining room.
The ballroom was added in 1884 and later reportedly used by Queen Elizabeth II as an entertainment room and cinema. The drawing room contains white marble statues as well as several portraits of past royals including Queen Alexandra and her daughters, Princesses Louise, Maud and Victoria.
Meanwhile, the walls of the dining room are adorned with Spanish tapestries, including some Francisco Goya works said to be a gift from Alfonso XII of Spain.
Connecting the principal rooms are corridors with walls displaying various arms and armour gathered by Edward VII during his tour of the East in the 1870s.
The house also features a gun room, a billiard room and a bowling alley, with the latter having being converted to a library.
What are the grounds like?
Sandringham Estate covers a massive 20,000 acres of land, with the main house itself set in 60 acres of gardens and a country park.
Its gardens, park and woodland areas are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The estate’s grounds include commercial and residential properties, woodlands and wetlands as well as livestock and fruit farms. There is also a sawmill and apple juice pressing plant.
Properties are intended as a primary residence for those who live and work locally, and are let, unfurnished, to tenants for a minimum of 12 months.
King Charles has reportedly introduced hundreds of rare-breed cattle and installed bird boxes on the estate, in keeping with his stance on environmental sustainability.
Over 200 people make their living from the estate, according to its website, including gamekeepers, gardeners and farmers.
As well as covering 13 villages, the estate features other houses with close links to the Royal Family including Anmer Hall, Appleton House, Park House, Wood Farm and York Cottage.
Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton were gifted Anmer Hall following their wedding in 2011, with the 10-bedroom Georgian house serving as the main country home of the royal couple until their move to Windsor’s Adelaide Cottage.
Can you visit Sandringham?
Sandringham House and the grounds were opened to the public for the first time by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977, to mark the late monarch’s Silver Jubilee.
The country park and a visitor’s centre usually remain open to the public throughout the year, with the house, its gardens and a museum typically open from the end of March through to the end of October each year.
Much of the estate was closed to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic, reopening beginning in February 2022 before shutting again for a period of official mourning following the Queen’s death later that year.
The house and garden then joined the country park in being open to the public again in April 2023.
Tickets are required, but opening dates for 2024 have yet to be announced.
