Featured Image Credit: Kenny Brown / Ted Hsu / Alamy
Topics: Monopoly, The Queen, Royal Family
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Emily Brown
Topics: Monopoly, The Queen, Royal Family
Families love a board game at Christmas, and the Royal Family is no different. They've even found themselves getting into trouble for being too competitive.
Ever been accused of 'ruining Christmas' by storming out on a game of charades? Or being 'dramatic' for welling up over a Scrabble loss? Don't worry, we've all been there.
A games night always starts off with good intentions, but sometimes that desire to win just becomes too hard to resist and the whole thing ends up a lot more serious than it started.
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Though you might expect the Royal Family to be a bit more gracious with their wins and losses than the general public, apparently that's not necessarily the case.
The Royals have been described as getting a bit too passionate about one board game in particular: Monopoly.
Obviously, as the rulers of the country, the family is very used to owning properties and swimming in cash, but that doesn't mean that fictionalised versions don't still get them worked up.
Their competitiveness has caused such an issue that Prince Andrew couldn't help but bring it up a few years ago, after he was gifted a Monopoly set while visiting the Leeds Building Society's newly-refurbished Albion Street headquarters for a lunch.
Upon being handed the game, Prince Andrew explained: "We're not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious."
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Despite being in his 40s at the time, Andrew was evidently still living under the instruction handed to the family when the Queen was in charge.
The competitiveness appears to run in the family, because last year Prince William admitted things still get heated when he plays board games with his wife and three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Speaking during a Q&A for Radio Marsden, the Duke of Cambridge explained: "We're playing board games with the children quite a lot. We love playing Monopoly and Risk—that's a good one, it goes on for hours. Some people get quite cross when they lose."
Though the Queen might not have allowed Monopoly in the house, she did have her very own version of the game dedicated to her prior to her death in September, with properties on the market including Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle and Buckingham Palace.
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Properties on the board represent 'key moments in Her Majesty's life', and players can even build palaces on their purchases to help increase their value.