It looks like Prince William and Kate Middleton are ready to shake up the Royal Family’s Christmas traditions, and they’re bringing the future queen’s family along for the ride.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, are expected to attend the traditional Christmas Day church service at St. Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate. But after the royal walk to church, it’s rumored that the royal couple will skip the formalities of lunch with King Charles as they are planning to have a cozy family gathering at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall.
According to royal commentator Emily Andrews, William and Kate are ditching the “Big House” festivities to host Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, for an informal Christmas dinner — a move that will “separate” them from the monarch on the special day. The Middletons are said to be a welcome addition to the Waleses’ holiday plans, especially since Princess Kate’s parents have been very supportive when she received treatment for cancer earlier this year.
“They prefer the informality of a relaxed lunch at nearby Anmer Hall. And I understand will do so again this year, with the addition of the Middleton family,” Andrews wrote in Woman Magazine, as per GB News.
Anmer Hall serves as the future monarchs’ country home. With school wrapping up for their three children — Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six — the family is expected to retreat to the Norfolk estate by mid-December. The countryside home, which was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II, has become their haven for low-key gatherings away from the public eye.
But while the Waleses are keeping things casual, the same can’t be said for the rest of the royals. Over at Sandringham House, King Charles, 76, is sticking to time-honored traditions despite undergoing cancer treatment. Christmas at Sandringham typically includes a lavish black-tie dinner and an exchange of gifts on Christmas Eve, followed by a morning church service, festive lunch, and the King’s speech.
This year, the Sandringham guest list is expected to include some eyebrow-raising attendees. Prince Andrew, 64, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 65, are reportedly gearing up for a return to royal Christmas after joining the festivities last year. Despite Prince Andrew’s ongoing feud with King Charles over Royal Lodge, it seems the disgraced Duke of York is still welcome at the King’s table — for now.
“Friends say that the extended Royal Family who were invited to Sandringham last year — among them Prince Andrew and his family, and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, are awaiting to see how Charles’ health holds up in the coming weeks, but they hope to all go,” Andrews noted after indicating that the festivities at the “Big House” may be “muted” because of the monarch’s ongoing battle with cancer.
It’s not clear if Prince Andrew’s attendance is part of the reason Prince William and Princess Kate are ditching royal tradition. Andrews only said that they’re planning to make their Christmas all about family — at least from the side of the future queen. Aside from Carole and Michael, they are also hosting Princess Kate’s siblings at Anmer Hall. Her sister Pippa, her husband James Matthews, and their three children — Arthur, six, Grace, three, and Rose, two — are likely to attend, along with her brother James Middleton, his wife Alizée, and their one-year-old son, Inigo.
More than having a “festive, joyous Middleton Christmas” — as Andrews called it — this year, the gathering with Princess Kate’s family will give the future king and queen a refreshing escape from royal formality and alibi not to rub elbows with the controversial Prince Andrew.
