Windsor Castle unveils Christmas displays and new decorations in Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House
Release date: Friday 22 November 2024
This festive period, visitors to Windsor Castle will see the State Apartments decorated with magnificent Christmas displays and for the first time, miniature decorations have been added to the tiny rooms of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House.
The highlight of this year’s Christmas decorations is a magnificent 20-foot-high Nordmann Fir tree in St George's Hall, grown nearby in Windsor Great Park where it will be replanted after the displays close. The tree is illuminated with over 3,000 lights and topped by a Garter Star decoration. The ceiling of St George’s Hall features shields with the coats of arms of every Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in 1348.
The Crimson Drawing Room is decorated with a 15-foot-high Nordmann Fir tree, also from the Windsor Great Park. The table in the Waterloo Chamber is decorated with a garland spanning the entire length of 50-metre-long table. In the Castle grounds, festive wreaths and foliage adorn gates and lampposts while inside, garlands on the Grand Staircase greet visitors at the entrance to the State Apartments.
Specially made miniature decorations have been added to Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, with a scaled-down Christmas tree in the Hall as well as a garland decorating the staircase. The new decorations were handmade by the Royal Warrant Holders Shane Connolly & Co. The miniature tree decorations are made of materials including glass beads repurposed from vintage necklaces, and tiny candles made with real candle wax.
The decorations are the final stage in the year-long celebrations marking the centenary of the Dolls’ House, a 1:12 scale replica of an Edwardian residence given to Queen Mary as a gift from the nation following the First World War.
After exploring the State Apartments, visitors can treat themselves to a festive menu in the Undercroft Café, available throughout December. Families can also participate in craft activities and workshops exploring how the Victorians celebrated Christmas, held at the Learning Centre every day the Castle is open between Sunday, 22 December 2024 and Sunday, 5 January 2025.
Christmas at Windsor Castle is from 21 November 2024 to 6 January 2025.
