Queen Elizabeth loved an unusual New Year’s game that left some of the Royal Family 'huffy'

From first footing - where the first person over your threshold is meant to bring gifts and luck - to eating 12 grapes, around the world people see in the New Year with their own blend of cultural or personal traditions.

And the Royal Family had an unusual New Year’s game they loved to play each year, although it could, per one source, leave members of the family "huffy".

Royal author Brian Hoey explained in his book, At Home with the Queen, that the late Queen Elizabeth II would love playing a game called 'lucky dip' - which saw the family pull out predictions for their year ahead.

Brian Hoey At Home with the Queen: £11.75 at Amazon

This is the real story of what goes on inside the royal palaces, as witnessed by members of the royal staff and household past and present.

Per the royal author’s book, the game would allegedly see members of staff bring in a tub, filled with sawdust and hidden pieces of paper, with predictions for the new year written on them.

Claims in the book suggested, 'Each member of the Royal Family takes a lucky dip and if their particular forecast is not very favourable the poor footman gets the blame.'

Expanding on this tradition, a royal source, per the Express, previously added, "The predictions are written up by the household but approved by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh [the late Prince Philip].

"Each member of the family picks out an envelope and reads out their ­prediction to the rest of the room.

"They’re meant to be funny but like all the family’s humour there’s an element of score settling and getting even to them. They’re usually taken in good humour but some people can get quite huffy if they feel they’re being got at."

While superstitions and fortune tellings might seem a little unusual for the Royal Family to partake in, it’s because of Princess Margaret that the British public became so obsessed with reading their star signs.

When the late Queen’s younger sister was born in 1930, the Sunday Express commissioned astrologer R.H. Naylor to predict her future.

Rather than focus on individual birthdays, though, the astrologer created predictions around the 12 ancient sun star signs, attributing personality traits to people based on the month in which they were born, basically creating the template for modern astrology as we know it today.

After New Year’s spent with the family at the Sandringham Estate, the late Queen would typically stay behind until well after the holiday season had passed, for a very moving reason.

Her Majesty would typically keep the Christmas vibes going until February 6, the anniversary of the passing of her father - King George VI.