The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, were most grateful to receive a copy of the official My London Magical Tours A to Z Guide by children’s author Ana Cartland. We hope the royal children George, Charlotte and Louis will enjoy learning the stories that make London such a special city to live and visit.

W is for Westminster – learn the history of London with your children

Interested in hearing what our young visitors to London thought of their trip with their My London Magical A To Z Guidebook? Find out by watching the video comments below:

Wonderful work by our young artists!

Visiting London with children? There’s no better way than on a private London tour with the family touring experts: London Magical Tours.

Every year, London Magical Tours offers young visitors the opportunity to participate in their annual Children’s Art Competition, a fun and entertaining way for kids to share their best London memories.

Below are some of our favourite entries so far for on this year’s competition for children aged 10 and under.

But hurry – entries are coming in thick and fast! The winners will be published here on the London Magical Tours blog and in addition, receive a special prize in time for Christmas.

Would you like to enter this year’s competition?

Read all about London Magical Tours’ London Tours for children, the best way to enjoy a fun and educational day out with your own expert tour guide and chauffeur.

A Very Merry Christmas Card from the Royal Family

All families have their own Christmas traditions. Whether it’s baking gingerbread cookies, taking part in carol singing or simply getting together to watch your favourite holiday movies.

But have you ever wondered how the Royal family celebrate the lead up to Christmas?

Read on to hear some of the better known Royal family Christmas traditions. You can learn more about the secretive ones on London Magical Tours’ award winning London Christmas Lights Tours.

When do the Royal Family exchange gifts? Clue: It’s not Christmas Day!

One of the most famous Royal family traditions was introduced by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. In line with German tradition, the Royal family actually exchange their gifts on the 24th of December, Christmas Eve. The gifts are then laid out on tables for each family member to open after tea time (that’s after dinner for our non-UK cousins).

Christmas Day service – At Sandringham

The monarch traditionally spends Christmas at the residence known as Sandringham, a countryside estate in Norfolk. The invited Royal family members visiting that year are then given an allocated time to arrive at Sandringham: the youngest member arrives first and the eldest member last. Once everyone has arrived, the final touches are put on the Christmas tree, a tradition also made popular by Prince Albert.

The Kings Christmas Speech. Credit BBC

Christmas Day begins with the Sandringham Christmas Day service, where the Royal family attend mass and step out of the St Mary Magdalene Church to greet the public.

To conclude Christmas Day, King Charles will continue the tradition of broadcasting a speech to the country and across the Commonwealth. As the speech is pre-recorded, the royal family will watch it together after their Christmas lunch. In previous years this has include prawns or lobster for starters, a turkey with all the trimmings as the main course – and Christmas pudding with brandy for dessert.

For more information on London Magical Tours’ luxury London tours,  as well as this year’s Christmas tours, visit the London Magical Tours website: https://www.londonmagicaltours.com

We are delighted to announce the publishing of London Magical Tours’ very own guidebook for children:

My London Magical A To Z Guide

My London Magical A to Z Guide is the perfect accompaniment to our excursions for all family visits, allowing children to follow the landmarks on their tour through a blend of drawings and clever anecdotes.

Covering many of the famous sites such as Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, the book also helps young visitors to awaken an interest in London life by introducing central figures like the Monarch and the Prime Minister.

As can be seen in the examples below, every one of the beautiful hand drawn illustrations has been inspired by the artwork of children who take part in our London tours on a daily basis from all corners of the globe:

W is for Westminster

Printed in luxurious hardback form, My London Magical A to Z Guide makes a beautiful souvenir, a memento for every child to customise with their name and date of their London visit to forever be reminded of their sightseeing experience.

A is for Albert

By purchasing the book visitors also contribute to the Cartland Foundation, a charitable organisation which offers educational visits to children with the aim of opening access to science and the arts, regardless of circumstance or background.

The hardback is available to order online now priced at £14.99, a £6 saving of the normal £20.99 RRP. The accompanying audio CD with full sound effects and narration in the English language is also available for an additional £5.

To order your copy and have it presented to your child at the start of their tour, please add this to your total tour cost when booking online. Alternatively the books can be ordered separately for delivery to the UK, USA, Canada and countries within the European Union by completing the online order form:

My London Magical A To Z Guide Book Order Form

Click on the image below to see some of our young visitors talk about their tour experience with the London Magical Tours A To Z Guide:

We would like to wish everyone a Magical Christmas and very happy 2015!

Dear Santa Claus,

The bestest thing I have seen in amazing London today was beautiful Buckingham Palace. I chose beautiful Buckingham Palace because it was fun seeing the solgers do there march and seeing the special flag on top of the beautiful buckingham palace. My most favourite part was seeing the lovely horses taking a carafe on the back. I loved seeing amazing London!

Gemma (7 years old on a London Christmas Tour with her family from Wangara, Australia)