The day Prince Philip said this royal Christmas was like an ante-natal clinic – and raised a glass ‘to the four little strangers who we know are present’

Sixty years ago there was a noticeable decline in the number of royal engagements.

The reason was simple: in the spring of 1963, half of the working royals were pregnant.

Both the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret were pregnant, as were their cousin Princess Alexandra and Katherine, wife of the Duke of Kent.

At the time, it was a taboo for royal ladies to be seen in public in the later stages of pregnancy.

The palace is expected to issue a statement announcing that the queen or any of her close female relatives will “not undertake any further public engagements” after a certain date.

Britain's Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon arrive at St. Paul's Cathedral for a special afternoon memorial service for the late President John F. Kennedy.

The Duchess of Kent and the Duke (partially hidden) attended church in Iver, Buckinghamshire, in December 1963

Princess Alexandra, who was expecting her first child at London Airport in November 1963

The royal mothers-to-be met privately, of course, and there was much hilarity at Christmas 1963, when all four families were reunited for the festivities at Sandringham, where the Queen's cousins, Kent and Gloucester, would be celebrating the holiday at the time.

Prince Philip said he felt like he was in an anti-natal clinic and toasted before Christmas dinner “to the four little strangers we know are there.”

He also toasted Princess Alexandra, who turned 27 on Christmas Day.

Alexandra married the Honorable Angus Ogilvy, son of the Earl of Airlie, in 1963, and this was her first pregnancy, so it must have been a comfort to her that the other royal ladies had been through this ordeal before.

No doubt she told them about a shocking incident where a burglar had broken into her home, Thatched House Lodge, in Richmond Park.

He climbed the ivy-covered walls to the first floor and jumped in through an open window, making his way to the princess's bedroom.

Alexandra had just finished eating and walked in and saw the man rummaging through her jewelry box.

Angus heard her petrified screams and ran upstairs, but the burglar escaped with twelve pieces that were of sentimental rather than great monetary value.

When some bricks appeared in the market, another man was accused of receiving stolen goods, but the burglar was never caught.

Alex gave birth to a nine-pound, six-ounce son who was given the resounding Scottish name James Robert Bruce.

Princess Alexandra with her son James returns to Thatched House Lodge in Richmond after his baptism in May 1964

Princess Alexandra's son was given the Scottish name James Robert Bruce

Queen Elizabeth with two of her sons, Prince Andrew, and the baby, Prince Edward, born in March 1964

Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, during the Trooping of the Color

Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Edward at Windsor in Berkshire, 1965

The Duchess of Kent is pictured with her infant daughter Lady Helen Marina Lucy Windsor and her son George Philip, Earl of St. Andrews in 1964

The Duchess of Kent pictured with her new daughter Lady Helen Windsor, sleeping soundly

He was a leap year baby, born on February 29, 1964, and his mother joked, “It's bad enough that my birthday is on Christmas Day.” I didn't want my poor child to have a birthday only once every four years.'

On February 29, 2024, James will celebrate his 60th birthday (and the 15th time it falls on a leap day).

The Queen was next to give birth and Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis arrived at Buckingham Palace at 8.20pm on March 10 weighing just 2.5kg.

Although several months before the Queen had disappeared from the public eye, she had felt it her duty to visit the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, in hospital to accept his resignation in October 1963.

She also attended a memorial service in honor of assassinated President John Kennedy at St George's Chapel Windsor in late November, when she was six months pregnant.

However, she did not attend the State Opening of Parliament that year and her Christmas broadcast was broadcast over radio rather than on television.

Like Charles and Andrew, the Queen gave birth at Buckingham Palace; Anne was born at Clarence House.

There was one big difference. This time, Prince Philip decided to be present for the first time and held her hand during the birth in the Belgian Suite, where heads of state usually stayed but which had been converted into a temporary delivery room.

The 31-year-old Duchess of Kent gave birth to her second child, a 6-pound daughter, Lucy Marina Helen, on April 28, 1964 at 10:30 p.m. Once again the birth took place at home – Coppins, the Kents' country retreat in Iver, Buckinghamshire.

Her husband, Eddie, was a captain in the Royal Scots Greys, based in West Germany at the time, although he managed to fly home just in time for the birth.

Princess Margaret was the last of the royal mothers to give birth.

Princess Margaret with Lord Snowdon and Viscount Linley at Kensington Palace, shortly after the birth of her daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones

Princess Margaret posed in 1966 with her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, and their children, David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones

The Queen Mother with Prince Edward, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones and David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley in 1970

She and her husband Tony, Earl of Snowden, helped usher in the swinging Sixties and there was no way she was going to remain isolated in Kensington Palace waiting to be born.

When she was seven months pregnant, she was spotted visiting Caernarvon Castle in North Wales during a private visit to Tony's father at his country home.

She also toured the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition. That same month she also saw Rudolf Nureyev rehearse for the ballet 'Images of Love' at the Royal Opera House.

When she was eight months pregnant, she and Tony attended the controversial Hang Your Head and Die, an anti-death penalty show at London's Comedy Theatre. They also went to see jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald at the Hammersmith Palais.

Margaret gave birth to a May Day daughter. Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Armstrong-Jones was born by caesarean section at 8:20 am on May 1, 1964.

Tony told staff 'she looks fantastic' and their two-and-a-half-year-old son David, Viscount Linley, who was being pushed around Kensington Gardens in his pram, was heard shouting: 'I've got a sister. .'

Tourists at Buckingham Palace were among the first to hear the news when the band put on Thank Heavens for Little Girls during Changing the Guard.

The quartet of royal babies – two boys and two girls – was complete and all four will celebrate their 60th birthday in t months.