Royal Expert Reveals Why Queen Elizabeth II and Her Mother Conducted an "Unconventional Exorcism" on a "Troubled Spirit" at Sandringham in 2000

"There was no dramatic casting out of demons," one royal biographer said.

The Queen Mother wears a pale blue outfit and matching hat with a pearl necklace and brooches, and her daughter Queen Elizabeth II wears a pale purple outfit
(Image credit: Ken Goff/Getty Images)

Members of the Royal Family live in fantastic palaces and regal homes filled with immense history. As a result, it's perhaps unsurprising to learn that, back in 2000, Queen Elizabeth II was involved in conducting an exorcism inside the main house on the Sandringham Estate. And according to one royal expert, the Royal Family were allegedly attempting to remove a mysterious presence from the room in question.

Queen Elizabeth II, her mom the Queen Mother, and her lady-in-waiting, Prue Penn, reportedly all took part in the Sandringham exorcism at the turn of the millennium. Speaking on his Daily Mail podcast, "Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things," royal biographer Robert Hardman said (via People), "It wasn't a conventional exorcism."

He continued, "There was no dramatic casting out of demons, like you see in films. It was said that the room contained a troubled spirit and that the parson was supposed to bless the space."

queen elizabeth sandringham

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Sandringham.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As for the identity of the so-called "spirit" the royals wanted to exorcize from Sandringham, Hardman explained, "No-one was quite sure who the ghost was supposed to be, despite it appearing in the room where George VI [father of Queen Elizabeth II] had died." The royal biographer further noted that it had been "speculated whether it might be the ghost of Diana, the late Princess of Wales, who had died a few years before [in August 1997]."

Sandringham Estate

Sandringham House.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Discussing whether or not the monarch would have been in the room for the exorcism itself, Hardman said, "The late Queen had a strong faith, but she was not superstitious." He continued, "She did not have time for these wilder theories—but she did have a strong sense of the spiritual, as does King Charles."

It remains unclear as to whether or not the "exorcism" made any noticeable difference to the house at Sandringham, but it's certainly one of the more unexpected tales from Queen Elizabeth's life.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.