Dawn Chorus: Santa's sleigh up for sale, the Royal photographs and sketches going on show, plus our Quiz of the Day

The Age of Elegance

If ever Netflix decide to make a whole new run of The Crown, they could do worse than setting it in turn-of-the-20^th-century Britain, chronicling the lives of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary. So it’s great to see that the first Royal Collection Trust exhibition ever to explore the Edwardian era is coming up next year, with everything from the photography and sketching of Alexandra through to works from the Royal Collection by many of the period’s most celebrated names, including Carl Fabergé, Frederic Leighton, Edward Burne-Jones, Laurits Tuxen, John Singer Sargent, Olive Edis, Philip de László, William Morris, Oscar Wilde and Edward Elgar.

‘The Edwardians: Age of Elegance’ will run from 11 April – 23 November 2025 in The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Ticket sales are open now.

Quiz of the Day

1) Which word can be used to describe both a television station and a body of water?

2) Which fabric is made from the flax plant?

3) Which country is known as ‘the gift of the Nile’?

4) What was the occupation of Dom Pierre Pérignon?

5) In which month is VE Day celebrated?

Answers down below

So what sort of trade-in are we looking at for this sleigh?

Either the magic of Christmas is in the air or someone at AutoTrader has cracked open the Christmas sherry a few weeks early. These seem the only two explanations for the appearance of Santa’s sleigh for sale on the car buying platform, with a price of £5,000.

‘All-terrain capability, built for snow, ice and rooftops everywhere,’ reads the ad, which also mentions a ‘9-reindeer-power engine’ that is ‘capable of supersonic speeds’, the plush velvet seating (‘unbeatable comfort for long-distance journeys’) and the fact that no MOT is required. The mileage isn’t mentioned, but ‘Don’t be put off, Santa says in the listing. ‘I can assure you, she runs like a dream.’

Autotrader suggest that Santa is selling in order to get an electric car, and even supplied what they claim are pics of the man himself charging a Tesla with the registration plate S4NTA. But frankly… we’re not convinced. Surely fuelling reindeer with carrots and then using the ‘exhaust’ as compost is the original bio-fuel?

It'd be crazy to buy a house purely because of a view from one of the garden buildings...

...yet if ever you were going to do it, it'd be because of the view from the loggia at Wytham Abbey.

The one small hitch is that you'll need £15 million to nab this beautiful house.

That's it — we're back tomorrow

Quiz answers

1) Channel

2) Linen

3) Egypt

4) Monk

5) May