Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, love playing classic British board games but one is long banned in the Royal Family

The royal couple are equally competitive when it comes to playing traditional games (
Image: Getty Images)

A popular hobby had to be banned in the Royal Family because it was getting ‘too vicious’.

Senior members of the UK’s best known family traditionally love to play board games when they get together. Christmas is one such occasion. The celebrations have been hosted at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk, since 1988, with a Christmas Eve black-tie dinner also part of the fun. And it’s as thrilling for the kids as for the parents.

“When I see my children meet up with my cousins’ children and they all have a wonderful time playing together, it’s very special,” said Prince William of the much-loved annual get together. “Christmas is a new dynamic when you have children, suddenly it’s a whole different ballgame of noise and excitement.”

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have been outspoken about his family’s love of board games ( 
Image:
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

But while the royals love to have fun, there’s on game that had to be taken off the table – Monopoly. According to Prince Andrew, the game is a strict no-go for the older members of the family.

When offered a set during an official engagement, the disgraced Prince was forced to turn it down, explaining to the well-wisher that the classic game – which involves buying and trading properties – would not be well received by his family.

“We are not allowed to play Monopoly at home,” the royal revealed to to the member of the public, according to the Telegraph. “It gets too vicious.”

But Andrew’s ex wife Sarah Ferguson told the Tea Talks podcast that – presumably with the exception of Monopoly – the family ‘do love games, board games, card games, Scrabble, jigsaws’. “They love to do what other families do and that’s lovely,” she added, calling the royals a ‘unified family’.

Kate is said to favour Scrabble, with Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo once revealing she told him her and William were equally competitive and could never finish a game because one of them would slam the board shut. Tatler Magazine even reported that Kate and Prince Harry’s wife Meghan first bonded over a game of Scrabble back in 2018.

Charades is said to be a safer option for the Royal Family and was a firm favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II. And while Monopoly was always banned, it seems William’s children are determined to revive the tradition.

“We love Monopoly and Risk,” the future king told The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust’s radio station in 2021. “That’s a good game, it goes on for hours and usually everyone gets really cross because they lose but that’s what I like playing.”