'I didn't want good advice at all. I wanted the doll'

When I was a child, Christmas at Holkham Hall in Norfolk was magical.

-  ZOE WEST

We had a vast tree in the Long Gallery, lit with real candles. Two footmen had to stand watch on either side, swiftly replacing them as they faded before the flames reached the branches. It was bitterly cold, and we would skate on the lake wearing Father Christmas hats. I remember long afternoons of skating, followed by lunch, then back on the ice before tea and presents.

Because my father was equerry to the Duke of York — later King George VI — my sister and I were sometimes invited to Buckingham Palace at Christmas. We'd go with our nanny, all dressed up. There was a splendid tea followed by a Punch and Judy show that Princess Margaret and I detested. We sat with our hands over our ears.