British royal residences have long been associated with paranormal activity, with multiple generations of the Royal Family reporting encounters with ghostly figures throughout their historic properties, according to paranormal experts and royal historians.
Paranormal historian Richard Felix, featured in the recently released Amazon Prime Video documentary “The King of UFOs,” states that supernatural presence exists in all royal properties.
Queen Elizabeth II reportedly encountered the spirit of her namesake, Queen Elizabeth I, in Windsor Castle’s library. King Charles III has witnessed the same apparition, while his grandfather, King George VI, reported seeing Queen Elizabeth I’s ghost eight times in the library before World War II began.
The current generation of royals appears comfortable with their supernatural cohabitants. Prince William, when informed about a spiritual resident at Anmer Hall, his Norfolk, England country home shared with Princess Catherine, responded with characteristic humor. “No old hall would be complete without a ghost, would it?” William remarked, according to Felix.
The spirit in question at Anmer Hall is reportedly that of a Catholic priest who met a violent end, having been “hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason.”
The royal family’s engagement with the supernatural extends beyond passive acceptance. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II participated in a séance, accompanied by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Prince Philip, in an attempt to communicate with her father, King George VI.
This interest in spiritualism traces back to Queen Victoria, who regularly invited mediums to conduct séances at Buckingham Palace. Victoria’s manservant, John Brown, reportedly served as a medium, helping her communicate with her late husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who passed away in 1861 at age 42.
The royal residences themselves have accumulated numerous supernatural tales over centuries. Windsor Castle allegedly hosts the spirits of King Henry VIII and King George III, while Hampton Court Palace is said to be haunted by several of Henry VIII’s wives, including Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard.
Buckingham Palace reportedly houses the ghost of a monk who died in a monastery that once occupied the site, as well as the spirit of a former private secretary to King Edward VII. At Sandringham House, where the royal family traditionally celebrates Christmas, staff have reported supernatural activity in certain areas of the property.
Prince Harry has also engaged with supernatural connections, consulting a woman with claimed psychic abilities to communicate with his mother, Princess Diana. The medium conveyed a message suggesting Diana was pleased with Harry’s life path: “Your mother says that you are living the life that she couldn’t live. You’re living the life she wanted for you.”
According to Felix, the royal family’s acceptance of their spectral residents reflects a common attitude toward such phenomena.