Of all the royal homes, Sandringham House is the least stuffy: less formal than Buckingham Palace, not so steeped in history as Windsor Castle and less baronial than Balmoral.
Certainly it offers an intimacy for today’s critical meeting on Prince Harry’s and Meghan’s future as functioning members of the Royal Family.
Staff have been asked to prepare the Long Library, which used to house a bowling alley. And it will certainly be familiar to both Harry and Prince William. As children when the nursery was full at Christmas time, it was where they used to come for high tea with Princess Diana and their royal cousins.
It is next to the billiard room and is sufficiently away from other rooms to guarantee privacy. The windows look on to the gardens and the soothing outlook might be just what the Queen needs as she sits down with her grandsons, Prince Charles and their aides amid one of the deepest crises of her reign.
Not since the dark days over Diana has there been such a sense of dread and unhappiness shrouding the Royal Family.
Of all the royal homes, Sandringham House is the least stuffy, and certainly it offers an intimacy for today’s critical meeting on Prince Harry’s and Meghan’s future as functioning members of the Royal Family.
In 1992 it was the anguish over the Princess of Wales’s marriage and the convulsions over her collaborating with the writer Andrew Morton. Then the family and their advisers agonised over what course of action to take when, despite endless meetings and frantic discussions, no solution could be found other than a cooling-off period for the couple which failed to work.
Five years later and the royals’ inadequate response to Diana’s death in Paris triggered another crisis.
For almost a week in that late summer of 1997 at Balmoral Castle there were family schisms, rows and stubborn silences. If not quite the 11th hour, it was perilously close by the time it was agreed that the Queen would broadcast to the nation and that a flag would fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace.
And it is that experience and the paralysis which gripped the institution on both occasions that has ensured the speed with which the showdown over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been planned.
Above all the Queen is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
So the ruthlessness of the stripping of Diana’s Her Royal Highness title, the repercussions of which linger to this day, is unlikely to be repeated with the Princess’s son and his wife.
Staff have been asked to prepare the Long Library, which used to house a bowling alley. And it will certainly be familiar to both Harry and Prince William. As children when the nursery was full at Christmas time, it was where they used to come for high tea with Princess Diana and their royal cousins
Unlike Diana, who only gained her HRH through marriage — which meant removing it on her divorce from Charles was logical if unnecessarily harsh for the mother of a future king — Harry was born with his title. And Meghan received hers as Duchess of Sussex on their marriage.
January at Sandringham is one of the Queen’s favourite times of the year. After the comings and goings of Christmas and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren depart, the Norfolk estate settles into a routine that has barely changed since the Queen came to the throne nearly seven decades ago.
Although she likes to rise at 7.30 each morning, she doesn’t take breakfast until 9am and there is always a more relaxed air around the house. At 93 she tends to remain in her private rooms on the first floor a little longer these days, typically till about 10.30am.
The month is dominated by shooting parties with guests arriving on a Thursday evening and staying till Monday morning.
This weekend it was the turn of her grandson Peter Phillips to welcome his friends and he was very much the dutiful figure alongside the Queen when she attended the service at Sandringham’s parish church, St Mary Magdalene, yesterday.
But because of this week’s summit his party broke up early with guests leaving Sandringham after Sunday lunch.
The days are just beginning to lengthen and the Queen enjoys spotting the first signs of spring in the countryside around her.
Unless it is very windy or cold she likes to take Vulcan and Candy, her two dorgis — a cross between the corgi and dachshund breed — for a daily walk. There is unlikely to be time for that walk today.
Lunch will be offered beforehand in the dining room and an afternoon meeting would allow three hours until 5pm, when the Queen expects to take tea. Bookending the summit between meals is also being seen as a way of keeping the temperature down
According to insiders there is considerable anxiety ahead of today’s meeting.
Despite this still being the holiday season for the Queen, the winter court means there is a full complement of domestic and official staff, around 35 in all at the ‘big house’. These include up 15 footmen, pantry staff and ten housemaids, as well as chefs and chauffeurs.
The Queen also has three dressers — including the reassuring presence of her senior dresser Angela Kelly — and her page Barry Mitford in attendance.
Prince Philip, who is expected to have a significant role as the Queen’s sounding board, has his valet Stephen Niedojadlo.
Two other key figures are also present: the Queen’s private secretary Sir Edward Young and her senior lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, widow of former BBC chairman Duke Hussey.
Lady Susan is likely to be the pivotal figure. Not only is she a trusted friend of the Queen and a confidante of Prince Charles — she is always a guest at his birthday parties — Lady Susan is also a godmother of Prince William.
‘Although it is unlikely she will sit in on the discussions, she will be close at hand and will very much support the Queen and Prince Charles whatever they decide,’ says a source.
For Sir Edward, 53, a former banker and Tory party adviser, the outcome of the meeting could determine his own future.
Some courtiers and even other members of the Royal Family —believed to include Princess Anne and Prince Edward — have been critical of his role in failing to prevent the sorry affair turning into a massive royal crisis.
This follows criticism he received for his perceived shortcomings over the scandal that has engulfed Prince Andrew.
The big showdown: While he may not be taking part, the views of Prince Philip (pictured), will certainly be made plain in the converation
His job will also be to brief Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill because of the implications for the UK Government if Harry and Meghan are permitted to move to Canada and the questions about their status and security that will follow.
Also around the large polished table, with its eight chairs, which dominates one end of the Long Library are expected to be Prince Charles’s canny private secretary Clive Alderton and William’s top aide and former civil servant Simon Case.
Prince Harry’s private secretary, ex-diplomat Fiona Mcilwham, is expected to complete the group.
Who will be at the crisis summit?
Fiona Mcilwham, the Sussexes new private secretary is expected to be at the summit
The Queen and her private secretary Sir Edward Young
The Queen is head of state and head of the royal family, and will ultimately have the final say in the matter.
As the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, her experience and knowledge on the workings of the institution of the monarchy are unrivalled.
Through the decades, the Queen has weathered the Windsors’ many storms and is a symbol of stability both for the nation and within the royal family.
Although left hurt by Harry and Meghan’s actions, the Queen is not given to rash decisions, and will be approaching the problem in a calm and pragmatic way.
The Prince of Wales and his principal private secretary Clive Alderton
Heir to the throne, Charles is the future king and currently bankrolls Harry and Meghan’s public duties through his £21 million-a-year Duchy of Cornwall income.
The prince is a caring, sensitive soul, and is said to be furious at how Harry and Meghan have handled the situation.
He is committed to his royal duty, but will also want his impetuous youngest son, who endured the loss of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was only 12, and Meghan to be happy.
The Duke of Cambridge and his private secretary Simon Case
When Harry turned 21, he described William as the one person on the planet to whom he could talk to about everything.
But talk of a falling out between the brothers, with William said to have urged his brother to not rush into marrying Meghan, has changed their once-close relationship.
William, who was said to be ‘incandescent with rage’ at the Sussexes’ actions, is a future king, and his position within the royal family is vastly different from sixth-in-line Harry, who has moved steadily down the line of succession and has to carve out his own role.
Mr Case was has been a leading civil servant previously tasked with trying to solve the border issue in Northern Ireland and Ireland during Brexit discussions.
The Duke of Sussex and the couple’s relatively new private secretary Fiona Mcilwham
Harry has always been a favourite with royal fans, who have never forgotten the heart-rending image of the 12-year-old prince walking behind his mother’s coffin.
In his younger days, he was a royal liability – dabbling with cannabis, dressing up as a Nazi and brawling with a paparazzi photographer – before he pulled off a charm offensive as he carried out overseas tours on behalf of the Queen.
Yesterday, it was claimed that the Duchess of Sussex would also be participating in the discussions via telephone link from Canada, where she has been reunited with baby Archie. However, insiders say it is unlikely that there will be an open line from Sandringham to Vancouver.
‘While the Queen has no objection in principle to Skype or conference calls, for clarity’s sake it is more likely that Harry will break off from the negotiations to call the Duchess,’ says an aide.
For the Queen, the trick will be calming any royal hotheads. While she herself is often inscrutable, even in private, other family members find it harder to hide their emotions — particularly the Prince of Wales.
It is one of the reasons why the Queen instructed that the meeting should be held at Sandringham. ‘It sends out a strong message,’ says one of her former officials.
‘First it says she is not budging, Norfolk is where she is in January therefore you come to her.
‘Secondly, it is a private home not an official one, like Buckingham Palace, and she hopes that Harry will get the distinction.’ For the duration of the meeting, normal life at Sandringham will come to a halt. Housemaids will be ordered to clean on the other side of the house and footmen will be confined to the pages’ vestibule.
The exact time of the meeting is not clear but privately staff believe it will begin at 2pm.
Lunch will be offered beforehand in the dining room and an afternoon meeting would allow three hours until 5pm, when the Queen expects to take tea. Bookending the summit between meals is also being seen as a way of keeping the temperature down.
For Charles, who was so impressed when he met Meghan Markle for the first time, his sense of disappointment at the turn of events is said to be profound. He was baffled by the couple’s decision to move to Windsor and where, unsurprisingly, Meghan was ‘bored’ living directly beneath the Heathrow flightpath. It has tested the father-son relationship.
For the dozens of dedicated and loyal staff who work for the Queen there is a sense of great shock at Harry and Meghan, whom they see as ‘ungrateful and selfish’.
According to insiders they first had a hint something was up when it was suggested that the Royal Household might help with building the couple’s new Sussex Royal website.
On learning that it would be promoting their commercial ambitions, the household officials quietly withdrew the offer. Harry and Meghan’s bombshell that they plan to ‘step back’ from royal life hasn’t quite ruined the new year season, but it’s been close.
Five days of revelation and confrontation has brought little good cheer. It has triggered not just royal exasperation but provoked public anger, too.
Weekend opinion polls exposed both a generational divide over attitudes towards the monarchy in dealing with the crisis, and also fury at the idea that quitting as royals and moving to North America should not mean at least some loss of privileges for Harry and Meghan.
As final preparations for the meeting were being made last night, one question remained. Will Harry take the chance today to seek out the one figure beside the Queen he most respects: his grandfather Prince Philip?
While the Duke of Edinburgh will not attend the meeting, his presence is bound to be felt.
Ever since his discharge from hospital just before Christmas, Philip has occupied his own suite of rooms at Sandringham House, taking his meals alone and rarely venturing out. Family members do go in to see him and the Queen is certain to keep him informed.
While it may be too late to keep Harry to his royal obligations, Philip, with a lifetime of public service behind him, may at least leave him with something to think about.