Just months after Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, we heard that Queen Camilla was already making some big changes in the Carolean Era. Reportedly, Camilla had pretty much taken over Sandringham – which is “privately owned” by the monarch – and she had made some big staff changes. Back in early 2023, she was already redecorating and reorganizing how things were done on the huge estate. Charles was making big changes too, especially to the gardens and working farm. Well, it looks like C&C made too many changes and they overlooked one of the most important events for the Sandringham estate: the annual Boxing Day shooting party. Apparently, the Sandringham pheasant wrangler has basically done a terrible job and there are barely any pheasants to shoot this year.
The King has come out all guns blazing — because his royal estate is running out of pheasants to shoot. Charles, 76, was said to be livid over a series of blunders that left the game bird numbers dwindling at Sandringham. He even faces calling off his annual Boxing Day shoot — and a long-serving gamekeeper at the Norfolk estate has been given the boot.
A source said: “It was a total cock-up. No birds, no bang, just red faces. The King wasn’t having it.”
Sandringham is one of the few remaining wild shoots in the country, meaning the game is reared where it is shot. The King, who backs traditional countryside practices, has been reluctant to release birds from breeders to get numbers up. But maintaining a more eco-friendly wild shoot has proved challenging, leaving pheasant numbers in decline.
There are now fears royals will be left twiddling their trigger fingers on Boxing Day as the annual shoot — a firm family favourite — is in doubt. The occasion is seen as a rare chance for family bonding, despite protests from animal rights campaigners who particularly dislike children taking part.
The ousted keeper, who ran the estate’s game for years, has been shown the door. Our source said: “Let’s just say he’s well and truly plucked off.”
In years past, there have been references to Prince Andrew enjoying pheasant-hunting season, and he’s still allowed to hunt and host shooting parties on pretty much every royal property. That’s my conspiracy: Andrew is responsible for the dwindling pheasant population in Sandringham. While this all sounds perfectly ghastly to me, I’m interested in what it says about Charles and Camilla – they won’t be able to host any shooting parties at Sandringham this year, which will hurt them socially and reputationally.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
