The Christmas tree in Great Britain
History tells us that Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha introduced the Christmas tree, a German tradition, to Great Britain in 1840, when he married Queen Victoria. Since then the custom has become firmly established in the British Isles, with many companies and institutions putting up special trees and Christmas installations each year to see in the Advent season. And the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which this year is celebrating 200 years since the births of its patrons, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, is no exception. The V&A’s Grand Entrance is currently home to Freedom, a Christmas tree installation designed by a German student from the Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts: Anna Hünnerkopf. Through the Coburg connection, Hünnerkopf’s impressive design serves in a sense to bring the ties between German and British Christmas traditions full circle.
