Medieval, Christmas Tree

In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced by King George III's Queen Charlotte, but did not spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria as a child was familiar with the custom, in her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old Princess wrote: "After dinner...we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room...There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees...".

The best species for use are species of fir, which have the major benefit of not shedding the needles when they dry out, as well as good foliage colour and scent; but species in other genera are also used. Commonly used species in the UK are;

Silver Fir Abies alba (the original species), Nordmann Fir Abies nordmanniana , Noble Fir Abies procera, Norway Spruce Picea abies (generally the cheapest), Serbian Spruce Picea omorika, Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris.

In 1847, Prince Albert wrote: "I must now seek in the children an echo of what Ernest (his brother) and I were in the old time, of what we felt and thought; and their delight in the Christmas-trees is not less than ours used to be".

Happy Christmas !

Trees Oak Elm Yew Ash Beech Native British Christmas Tree