Sleeping Beauty to cast its spell on Waddesdon Manor this Christmas

Inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty, Waddesdon is set to be transformed for a magical festive experience this festive season (15 November 2024 – 5 January 2025).

Successive generations have grown up with the tale of the beautiful princess who, cursed by a wicked fairy, falls into a 100-year slumber from which only the kiss of true love will wake her … but the story has a special significance for the Rothschild family – who originally built Waddesdon Manor – for very personal reasons.

In 1913, James and Dorothy de Rothschild commissioned the renowned Belarusian artist and stage designer, Léon Bakst, to paint a set of seven panels depicting scenes from Sleeping Beauty using members of the Rothschild family, their friends, staff and pets as models for the characters. Today these panels hang at Waddesdon.

Taking this magical story – and these paintings – as inspiration, a team of internationally renowned designers and artists are creating Waddesdon’s most enchanting Christmas experience yet with theatrical installations, projections and soundscapes bringing the much-loved fairytale to life in some of the Manor’s grandest rooms.

Visitors can enjoy beautifully decorated interiors, new light projections on the Manor façade, a glittering light trail in the gardens and the return of the ever-popular Christmas market.