When it comes to Christmas, the British and European royal families certainly know how to do it in style.
There are a few traditions most of them observe, like releasing annual Christmas cards and delivering a Christmas address to the masses on December 25.
But there are also plenty of details that set the British royals apart from the Belgians, the Dutch apart from the Danes, and so on.
The world’s royal families all mark Christmas in different ways. (Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
From holidays spent at historic castles, to international escapes and traditions that have been passed down for generations, here’s how royal families across Europe and the UK celebrate Christmas.
British royal family
The British royal family probably have the most well-known Christmas traditions, which include holidaying at Sandringham and an annual family mass at the local church.
Every year the reigning monarch also makes a special public address on Christmas Day, but the festivities start long before that.
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Catherine, Princess of Wales has started one of the British royal family’s newest Christmas tradition. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
They used to start with an annual pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace for members of the royal family, hosted by the monarch.
But that changed five years ago when Catherine, the Princess of Wales started a new royal family Christmas tradition.
Now she hosts the Together at Christmas carol service in early December at London’s Westminster Abbey every year to start the festive season.
A whole slew of royal family members typically attend, including Prince William and the three Wales children; Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
A few weeks later, there’s pre-Christmas lunch hosted by King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
Then the royals head to Sandringham House, where they have been spending Christmas and New Year as a family for decades.
The late Queen Elizabeth II started holidaying at Sandringham in the late 1980s and encouraged her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to join her there almost every year.
King Charles has kept the tradition going since he took the throne.
The historic home is decked out in festive decorations and presents are stashed under a huge Christmas tree.
The late Queen Elizabeth II started the tradition of British royals spending Christmas at Sandringham. (PA Images via Getty Images)
Unlike most Australian families, the British royals typically exchange gifts on Christmas Eve over a family dinner.
On Christmas Day, they’re up early for the traditional morning mass at St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, a country church that dates all the way back to the 1500s.
The whole extended royal family usually attends mass, greeting well-wishers who flock to the church for a glimpse of King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Wales family, and other members of the British monarchy.
But not all members of the royal family make the trip every year.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex have spent several Christmases abroad, celebrating the holidays with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in Canada and the US, where they now live.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spent Christmases abroad since quitting the royal family in 2020. (Getty)
It’s also unclear if former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will make an appearance at the royal festivities at Sandringham this year.
Having been stripped of his titles over his connection to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, he and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson may not receive invitations this year.
It’s possible that their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as their respective husbands and children, may also skip the festivities.
All the best Christmas Day photos of the royal family
Danish royal family
King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark have opted to break from Danish royal family tradition this Christmas.
This year they’ve decided to spend the holidays in Copenhagen, at the royal family’s winter residence, Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg
Queen Margrethe II, Crown prince Christian, King Frederik, Princess Isabella, Queen Mary, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent at Marselisborg for Christmas 2024. (Kongehuset/Danish royal family)
The King and Queen will be joined by Queen Margrethe II, as well as their four children; Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
The royal family will attend a Christmas Eve service and Christmas morning mass at Copenhagen Cathedral, then host lunch inside Frederik VIII’s Palace.
Last year they marked their first Christmas as King and Queen by travelling from their winter residence in Copenhagen to Marselisborg Castle in Aarhus, in keeping with years of tradition.
They stayed there from December 23 until December 26 with their children.
Queen Margrethe II was also in residence at the castle from December 20 to December 30.
The Danish royals have celebrated Christmas at Marselisborg since Queen Margrethe II (pictured) was crowned. (Getty)
In fact, she has spent just about every Christmas at Marselisborg, north-west of Copenhagen, since her ascension to the throne in 1972.
It’s a long-standing tradition in the Danish royal family to ring in the holidays there and attend mass at Aarhus Cathedral on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a family.
Danish royals also often spend Easter at Marselisborg, which is over 100 years old.
But Queen Mary doesn’t always celebrate the festive season at the castle.
In fact, she has been known to wake up on Christmas morning halfway around the world.
Mary has maintained strong ties to her home country of Australia since joining the Danish monarchy. (Getty)
Born and raised in Tasmania, Mary has returned home to spend the holidays in Australia several times in her royal career.
She and her family visited in 2015, 2017 and 2022 to spend Christmas in Hobart.
Mary also travelled home for a brief stay just before Christmas in 2023, but returned to Denmark just in time to spend Christmas at Aarhus.
And Aarhus Christmases are very different to Christmas in Australia.
Temperatures often drop to 0 degrees Celsius and snow is common, and the majority of the festivities are hosted on Christmas Eve in keeping with European traditions.
Monegasque royal family
In Monaco, the royal family honours a tradition started decades ago by one of the monarchy’s most famous members: American actress turned royal Princess Grace.
In the 1950s, she and husband Prince Rainier III established the Christmas Gifts Distribution Party, a special event hosted at Prince’s Palace in Monte Carlo every December.
Hundreds of children aged between five and 12 are invited to the bash, where they are treated to hot chocolate, entertainment, and a Christmas gift from the royals.
These days it’s their son Albert II, Prince of Monaco who hosts the annual party, alongside his wife Princess Charlene.
Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and their two children Albert and Stephanie participating in a toy distribution. (Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
They’ve kept the tradition going strong for years and Albert has even been spotted wearing a Santa hat to hand out presents to children one by one.
The couple also share children of their own, twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques.
They’ve accompanies their parents to several Christmas gift parties, where they’ve often been spotted dressed in coordinating outfits.
Gabriella and Jacques have also been known to join their parents at mass on Christmas Eve, which the royal family traditionally attends together.
There they witness the blessing of the Pan de Natale, a traditional sweet bread in the shape of a cross which is shared at family meals during Christmas.
Then it’s off to bed for the twins – but not before leaving out something special for Santa.
Prince Albert II, Princess Charlene, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella pose for their 2024 Christmas card. (Éric Mathon/Prince’s Palace)
“They always leave a glass of milk and cookies for him, as well as water and grass for his reindeer,” Charlene told French magazine Point de Vue.
Albert and Charlene then celebrate Christmas morning privately with their children, opening presents at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, their official residence.
“We gather around the tree,” Charlene once said.
“My husband, when he is with Jacques and Gabriella, is at his happiest, and he always wants to wear something festive for the occasion!”
Dutch royal family
Christmas is a little different in the Netherlands, so the Dutch royal family follow their own unique holiday traditions.
The Dutch royal family released this sweet family Christmas card in 2024. (Facebook/Koninklijk Huis)
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their three daughters Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane start the season by celebrating the feast of Sinterklaas.
The holiday marks Saint Nicholas’ name day on December 6, but in the Netherlands gifts are exchanged the night before on St. Nicholas’ Eve.
The King, Queen and their daughters usually take part in a Sinterklaas royal engagement, then exchange gifts privately at Huis ten Bosch Palace, their official residence.
That’s also where they typically spend the holidays.
But every now and then they trade the snow and freezing temperatures in the Netherlands for a summertime Christmas in Argentina, Queen Maxima’s homeland.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima celebrated Christmas with their daughters in Villa la Angostura, Argentina in 2012. (Joaquin Salguero/Getty)
They’ve previously spent the holidays in the a resort town of Villa La Angostura, nestled beside Nahuel Huapi Lake in Patagonia, Argentina.
Regardless of where the family celebrates, King Willem-Alexander always releases a pre-recorded Christmas address on December 25.
Norwegian royal family
Norway’s Princess Ingrid Alexandra may have moved to Sydney to study, but even she couldn’t resist returning home to celebrate Christmas with the Norwegian royal family.
King Harald and Queen Sonja typically spend the holidays at Kongsseteren, one of the King’s private residences in Holmenkollen, just outside of Oslo.
Also known as the Royal Lodge or Royal Villa, it’s a two-storey log villa built in the neo-baroque style that has been in the family since the early 1900s.
King Harald and Queen Sonja with their children and grandchildren for the Norwegian Royal Family Christmas photo in 2004. (Terje Pedersen-POOL/Getty)
The Norwegian royals have spent countless snowy Christmases there, where the temperatures often drop below freezing in winter.
The King and Queen are often joined by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, their children Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, and other royals.
In recent years the Crown Prince couple have chosen to spend some Christmases privately with their children at the family’s cabin in the Norwegian mountains.
These celebrations have also included Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship Marius Borg Høiby will be invited.
He is currently preparing to face trial on charges of rape and abuse.
Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Høiby is unlikely to make any major appearances this Christmas. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/AFP via CNN Newsource)
Other Norwegian royals have also skipped family Christmases at Kongsseteren in the past.
Princess Märtha Louise, the King and Queen’s daughter, often spends Christmas with her family in her private villa in Oslo.
She is currently married to self-styled shaman Durek Verrett and has three daughters from her first marriage; Maud Angelica, Leah Isadora, and Emma Tallulah.
Märtha Louise stepped away from her official royal role in 2022 and recently released a controversial Netflix documentary which the palace claimed “breached” an agreement made when she exited the monarchy.
Spanish royal family
Like many European royal families, Christmas is a traditional affair for the Spanish royals.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia typically celebrate at Zarzuela Palace, their official residence near Madrid, with their daughters Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía.
Celebrations begin on Christmas Eve with King Felipe’s annual Christmas address, followed by a dinner attended by the whole royal family.
In the past the guest list has included Felipe’s father King Juan Carlos, who abdicated the throne in 2014, and his wife Queen Sofia.
Queen Letizia and her daughters watch King Felipe’s Christmas address in 2017. (Getty)
But the former monarch may not receive an invitation this year given recent tensions.
In October, Juan Carlos admitted he had a “personal disagreement” with daughter-in-law Letizia, seemingly confirming a long-rumoured feud between them.
He also revealed there had been a breakdown in his relationship between his two granddaughters.
Regardless of any family tensions, King Felipe and his family are expected to attend church on Christmas Eve and spend Christmas Day at the palace as a family.
In the past, Letizia’s family have joined them for lunch of seafood, roast suckling pig, roast lamb, and turrón (nougat made from almonds) on Christmas Day.
This handout image provided by the Spanish Royal Household shows the inside of the Royal Christmas Card featuring a photograph of featuring King Felipe VI of Spain with Queen Letizia of Spain and their children Crown Princess Leonor of Spain and Princess Sofia of Spain as well as a message from the family on December 16, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Casa de S.M. el Rey/Spanish Royal Household/Getty)
And the festivities don’t end there.
The Spanish royals also celebrate Epiphany on January 6 to mark the day the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus, according to Christian tradition.
It is celebrated just as much as Christmas Day in Spain.
Belgian royal family
The Belgian royal family honour a unique Christmas tradition.
Princess Eleonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth and Prince Emmanuel at the 2020 Christmas concert. (Belgian Royal Family)
Every year they host a special carols concert at the Royal Palace of Brussels for their staff, which is usually broadcast on TV as well.
But in 2023 it had to be called off as the palace was undergoing renovations.
It returned in 2024 with all the bells and whistles, and even Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, who had been studying abroad, returned home for the festivities.
She joined parents King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and younger sister Princess Eleonore at the concert.
The King and Queen’s sons Prince Gabriel and Prince Emmanuel did not attend, but they did appear in the family’s annual Christmas card portrait.
The Belgian royals released this festive Christmas card in 2024. (Palais royal / Koninklijk Paleis)
The Belgian royals usually celebrate Christmas privately at the Castle of Laeken, the King and Queen’s official residence just outside the city of Brussels.
Like in the Netherlands, most Belgians celebrate Sinkerlass earlier in December by exchanging gifts, then honour Christmas as a more religious holiday.
Swedish royal family
Christmas in the Swedish royal family typically begins with a Christmas tree delivery.
Each year the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences presents a collection of trees to the royal family, for display in Royal Palace in Stockholm.
Last year Queen Silvia accepted the trees accompanied by her eight grandchildren, who helped decorate them to kick off the festive season.
Queen Silvia of Sweden surrounded by her grandchildren at Christmas in 2024. (Instagram/Princess Madeleine of Sweden)
Then on Christmas Eve, the royal family head to King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s permanent home residence Drottningholm Palace for a festive dinner.
Located just outside Stockholm, the palace was built in the 1600s and is steeped in history.
The royals typically spend Christmas Day there as a family before parting ways to visit different relatives throughout the rest of the holiday season.
Crown Princess Victoria, husband Prince Daniel, and their children Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar often visit his family in Ockelbo, about two hours from Stockholm.
Victoria’s younger brother Prince Carl Philip also often packs up his and Princess Sofia’s four children – Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Prince Julian, and Princess Ines – for a trip to her parents’ house in Älvdalen near the Norwegian border.
Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Sofia attend the annual “Christmas in Vasastan” concert in 2015. (Michael Campanella/Getty)
They often attend the ‘Christmas in Vasastan’ (Jul i Vasastan) concert at Gustaf Vasa Church as well.
Princess Madeleine, the King and Queen’s youngest child, has spent several Christmases abroad in the past.
She and British-born American financier husband Christopher O’Neill lived in the US and UK with their three children Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne until 2024, when they relocated to Sweden.
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