NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
King Charles<\/a> just gave a rare look inside one of the royal family’s most beloved residences.\n<\/p>\n On Thursday, July 24, the King hosted President Maia Sandu of Moldova and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India at his Sandringham Estate<\/a> in Norfolk, located about 100 miles north of London.\n<\/p>\n The leaders shook hands for photos in the saloon, Sandringham House’s main reception room. A fireplace is seen in the background along with large plants placed throughout the room, which receives plenty of natural light thanks to large windows.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The King was given a tree to be planted this autumn, inspired by the environmental initiative launched by the Indian Prime Minister, which encourages people to plant a tree in tribute to their mothers.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Sandringham is a beloved estate for the royal family and where they typically spend Christmas and New Year’s. The tradition was started by the late Queen Elizabeth in 1988, meaning all of her grandchildren grew up holidaying in Norfolk.\n<\/p>\n However, the house’s holiday significance dates back even earlier than that. Sandringham House was where the late monarch delivered her first-ever televised Christmas message<\/a> in 1957.\n<\/p>\n Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a> to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n These days, the family’s holiday traditions are being passed on to a new generation. On Christmas Eve, they gather for a formal, black-tie dinner and to exchange gifts. In his 2023 memoir<\/a>, Spare, Prince Harry<\/a> recalled how the royal gift exchange might differ from the average family.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe were at Sandringham in a big room with a long table covered with white cloth and white name cards. By custom, at the start of the night, each of us located our place, stood before our mound of presents,” he wrote. “Then suddenly, everyone began opening at the same time. A free-for-all, with scores of family members talking at once and pulling at bows and tearing at wrapping paper.\u201d\n<\/p>\n On Christmas morning, the family walks together<\/a> to St. Mary Magdalene Church, a 16th-century parish located on the Sandringham Estate, greeting locals, fans and members of the press along the way. After the service, they walk back to Sandringham House to enjoy the day together.\n<\/p>\n Sandringham House in Norfolk, England.<\/p>\n Fox Photos\/Hulton Archive\/Getty<\/p>\n While the holiday gathering this year will almost certainly include King Charles and Queen Camilla<\/a>, as well as Prince William<\/a>, Kate Middleton<\/a> and their children \u2014 Prince George<\/a>, 12,\u00a0Princess Charlotte<\/a>, 10, and\u00a0Prince Louis<\/a>, 7 \u2014 some members of the royal family have split off from the celebration in recent years. Last Christmas, for example, both Princess Beatrice<\/a> and Princess Eugenie<\/a> spent the holidays with their in-laws.\n<\/p>\n Prince Harry\u00a0and\u00a0Meghan Markle<\/a> <\/strong>haven\u2019t taken part in Christmas with the royal family since 2018, the year they married.\u00a0Amid the couple’s rift with the royals<\/a> and Harry’s recent declaration<\/a> that he “can\u2019t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K.,” their children \u2014 Prince Archie<\/a>, 6, and Princess Lilibet<\/a>, 4 \u2014 have never experienced the holidays at Sandringham.\n<\/p>\n