Good day to you.
I am Prince Henry, son of King Henry the 7th.
Constable of Dover Castle, Lord Warden of Cinque Port,
Earl Marshal of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
Knight of Bath, Duke of York and Warden of the Scottish Marches.
You may bow.
And be sure to address me as Your Highness.
Now, I understand you have some questions for me.
Normally, I wouldn't allow such impudence from commoners,
but as we are in the Christmas period, I shall allow it.
So who would like to address me first?
Hello.
I'm Karmjeet and I'm 8 years old.
Well, of course you are.
And what would you like to know?
How do you celebrate Christmas?
Well, in a number of ways.
At the moment we are in advent which means we fast until Christmas Day.
We can eat no meat, cheese or eggs.
We must show penance in the 40 days before Christmas, showing
sorrow for all of our sins.
At the end of the 40 days on Christmas Day, we feast.
The palaces and decorated in a variety of ways, such as the kissing bough.
It is decorated with holly and ivy and we embrace our guests under it
when they enter.
We also allow the commoners to take leave from their social standing immediately
after Christmas and experience some revelry above their station.
Only for the 12 days of Christmas tide naturally.
Thank you, Your Highness.
There you are.
What is your question?
Hello, my name's Felix and I'm 10 years old.
Good morrow to you.
Where will you spend Christmas?
Here in Eltham Palace, of course.
I spend much of my childhood here hunting and feasting with my family.
We host our Christmas feast on the 25th of December
in the Great Hall amongst a many of my father's court.
We are within close distance of the docks in Greenwich,
and we have a deer park in which we hunt and enjoy the countryside.
As my father is king we have pick of the grandest properties in the land,
but we prefer Eltham at the moment.
Thank you, Your Highness. Of course.
Are there any more questions?
Hello.
I'm Simi, I'm 11 years old.
Yes, I can see that.
What is your question?
What do you have at your feast?
Oh, my favorite question.
We will eat a variety of foods
this year as we are inviting over 1000 from my father's court.
One of my favorites is Christmas Pie.
This includes a pigeon
inside a partridge, inside a chicken, inside a goose, inside a turkey,
inside a pastry case with, of course, a selection of meats on the side.
Delicious.
And we'll have mince pies, of course, with the 13 ingredients
to represent the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This includes fruits, spices and naturally mutton.
Lovely.
We will also have 12th Night cake.
Whoever lucks upon the slice with the bean inside
shall become king or queen of the day.
I'm already looking forward to the jollity and japes we will have.
Finally, we'll toast to the fruit trees for a great crop this year
with some punch.
Ours is made from hot ale, sugar, spices, apple and some bread at the bottom.
Whomever is offered,
the bowl first is considered the most important person in the room.
And then when the bowl is passed on, we say, wassail!
Thank you, Your Highness.
You will have to ask a final question on the balcony.
Oh, it's you.
What is your final question?
Hello, I am Henry and I am 8 years old.
What do you do for New Year? Ah New Year's.
We celebrate with gifts, of course, we both give and receive
making sure we are generous, as is befitting a royal family.
If you plan to bestow a gift upon my family, however,
you must be careful.
Having a gift rejected is a terrible sleight
and may lead to consequences for you.
We are happy to receive exotic and rare items.
This can gain you favor.
It is expected by the servants to bring us gifts in the morning
from both family and from the court.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Of course, now all this talk about food has made me hungry.
You may leave.