It was so lovely to see Sandringham this past summer when we were in England.

It was just on the heels of the Jubilee Celebration in London, and we managed to visit one day ahead of the Queen, who was holding a very large garden party on the lawn the next day.

With all the excitement over the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy this Christmas season and will she or won’t she be at Sandringham with the Royal Family as tradition usually dictates,  it brought back memories of this beautiful place set in the Norfolk countryside.

This winter I can now actually visualize The Queen sitting with her family in the lovely drawing-room, perhaps working on a particularly tricky corner at her special jigsaw puzzle table. And I am hoping the Duke and Duchess get a chance to enjoy the cottage his grandmother gave him on the estate in honor of his 30th birthday. But perhaps this will be the year they spend Christmas with her family, and squeeze in a visit to the royal side of the family sometime over the holiday week. That is what the word is.

Still, when the English news shows the Royal Family walking to chapel on Christmas morning, I will remember it from last summer. When we were there, it looked so familiar from all the past Christmas photos. And this year the Queen did her Christmas message in 3-D…the old and the new.  Ever the modern Queen who also honors tradition.

St. Mary Magdalen’s Church across the gardens and fields from the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. Photo by me

2012 was a year to remember, with not one, but two visits for me this year to England.  One in the late spring and early June, just in time for the Queen’s huge Diamond Jubilee Celebration in London.

The night of the Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. Photo by me June 2012

And later in November to work on the creative workshop we are planning for next September in Bath.

The River Avon runs through Bath. Photo by me.

In between was the Olympics (which I devoured on TV), and lots of happy news from relatives and friends on both sides of the pond (including my first grand-niece !!!!!).

And then of course, right before Christmas the announcement of the royal baby on his or her way.  Lovely that it will wear the crown either way–boy or girl. As long as the new future monarch is happy and healthy, what does it matter.

What an incredible year.