A popular hobby had to be banned in the Royal Family because it was getting ‘too vicious’.

Senior members of the UK’s best known family traditionally love to play board games when they get together. Christmas is one such occasion. The celebrations have been hosted at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk, since 1988, with a Christmas Eve black-tie dinner also part of the fun. And it’s as thrilling for the kids as for the parents.”When I see my children meet up with my cousins’ children and they all have a wonderful time playing together, it’s very special,” said Prince William of the much-loved annual get together. “Christmas is a new dynamic when you have children, suddenly it’s a whole different ballgame of noise and excitement.”.

But while the royals love to have fun, there’s on game that had to be taken off the table – Monopoly. According to Prince Andrew, the game is a strict no-go for the older members of the family.

When offered a set during an official engagement, the disgraced Prince was forced to turn it down, explaining to the well-wisher that the classic game – which involves buying and trading properties – would not be well received by his family.

“We are not allowed to play Monopoly at home,” the royal revealed to to the member of the public, according to the Telegraph. “It gets too vicious.”

But Andrew’s ex wife Sarah Ferguson told the Tea Talks podcast that – presumably with the exception of Monopoly – the family ‘do love games, board games, card games, Scrabble, jigsaws’. “They love to do what other families do and that’s lovely,” she added, calling the royals a ‘unified family’.