Queen Elizabeth is keeping family tradition alive at Sandringham Estate.
Today, the 93-year-old monarch paid tribute to her father King George VI’s legacy and opened the new and improved Wolferton’s Pumping Station on the estate’s ground. The late king, who passed in 1952, opened the original station 72 years ago.
Buckingham Palace celebrated the historic moment by sharing a photo on Twitter of George VI with young Queen Elizabeth at the official opening on February 2, 1948.
The palace went on to explain via tweet that “Wolferton Pumping Station was opened shortly after the Second World War to enable the surrounding marshland to be brought into full production.” The station, which is surrounded by Sandringham Estate’s 7,000 acres of marshland and sits below sea level, allows the area to be “drained, dried out and farmed.”
They also shared a quote from King George VI who said of his family’s longtime residence, “I have always been so happy here and I love the place.”
Queen Elizabeth seems to have inherited her father’s love for Sandringham. Every winter, Her Majesty travels to the estate to spend Christmas surrounded by her family and stays there well into the new year. Of the many homes, er, palaces that the royal family owns, Queen Elizabeth is particularly fond of the King’s Lynn-area estate.
Interestingly, the mansion has been in the family since 1862. In addition to its 7,000 acres of marshland, the holiday home includes 60 acres of lush gardens, guest houses for Prince William and his lot and even the St. Mary Magdalene Church, where Princess Charlotte was baptized.
Suffice it to say, the home is steeped in history and tradition, which makes the queen’s reopening of Wolferton’s Pumping Station all the more meaningful.
Way to go, QEII.
