Queen held religious service at 'haunted' royal home after staff 'too afraid' to enter
There are many shocking and strange stories that have been reported from each royal residence, whether that is Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Kensington Palace. But one of the most unique took place at Sandringham House in 2000 and was revealed in the diaries of the late society columnist Kenneth Rose when they were published after his death.
He claimed that a "little service" was held in one of the downstairs bedrooms at the 18th Century mansion after members of staff reported paranormal experiences. The service was conducted by a pastor in the presence of the late Queen, the Queen Mother and Lady-in-Waiting, Prue Penn.
Sandringham House stands on a 20,000 acre estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is where the Royal Family traditionally spend Christmas.
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Much of the house's history is punctuated by ghostly sightings and strange events - one of which will certainly shock you. Members of staff at Sandringham reportedly became scared of one room in the vast house after a number of nerve-wracking experiences in there.
The room in question was where the late Queen's father, King George VI, lived before his death in 1952 and was said to be so haunted that staff made it known they didn't want to work in there.
The incredible story of the service was revealed by Kenneth Rose in The Daily Mail. He wrote: "Prue Penn [the Queen Mother’s lady-in-waiting] tells me that at Sandringham in the summer, the Queen invited her to attend a little service in one of its rooms conducted by the local parson. The only other person present was the Queen Mother.
"Some of the servants had complained that the room was haunted and did not want to work in it. The parson walked from room to room and did indeed feel some sort of restlessness in one of them."
He went on: "This, the Queen Mother identified, was a ground-floor room which had been turned into a bedroom for George VI during his last months. So the parson held a service there, not exactly of exorcism, which is the driving out of an evil spirit, but of bringing tranquility.
"The congregation of three took Holy Communion and special prayers were said, I think for the repose of the King’s soul in the room in which he died. The parson said that the oppressive or disturbing atmosphere may have been because of Princess Diana: he had known such things before when someone died a violent death."
The service isn't the only report of ghostly activity at Sandringham as it was also said that King Charles became very nervous while viewing some old paintings there in the mid-1980s.
Speaking in 2011 a courtier said: "Everyone believes there are ghosts because so many have experienced them, including [King] Charles. There are old parts of the house where nobody wants to go or be alone."
One account explained that while Charles and his valet were looking at the prints they both felt like someone was behind them even thought the room was empty.
The source revealed: "After crying, ‘Oh heck!’, the Prince grabbed the first print and got out as quickly as he could. He was petrified. There have been lots of incidents in the library.
"There is an old clock in there and the hands move by themselves. There is a smaller part of the library where a servant once had a kip, only to be woken by books flying from the shelves."
