New Year’s Eve is a time when millions of people around the world celebrate as they say goodbye to the past and welcome a fresh start.
But how we party is what sets us apart, especially when it comes to royalty.
Here’s how some of our favourite royal families mark the New Year.
King Charles will be at Sandringham House for New Year’s Eve after spending Christmas at the Norfolk estate with his family. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)The British royal family
The British royals traditionally spend Christmas and New Year at Sandringham House, the King’s country estate in Norfolk.
King Charles arrives at the estate just before Christmas Eve, when he is joined by the rest of his family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
This year, it’s unclear which royals will be at Sandringham.
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The British royals have Christmas at Sandringham and some remain at the estate for New Year’s. (Wikimedia Commons)
Queen Camilla’s adult children Tom and Laura have confirmed they won’t be, while all eyes will be on the family on Christmas Day to see if Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie spend it with the royals or their outcast parents Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson
In years gone by, the late Queen Elizabeth II remained at Sandringham until February 6, until the anniversary of her father’s death.
But since ascending the throne in 2022, King Charles has left the estate earlier and relocated to his home on the Balmoral estate in Scotland for much of January.
During the late Queen’s reign, Elizabeth II hosted her family at Sandringham over New Year’s, particularly those who were unable to be there for Christmas.
Her former private secretary, Sir William Hesletine, once said everyone there stayed up to midnight, including the monarch: “Nobody felt it right to go to bed before the Queen did”.
While it was once reported the Queen used to lead party games, including a lucky dip which called for staff to bring in a tub, filled with sawdust and hidden pieces of paper, with predictions for the year ahead written on them.
The Wales family often have New Year’s at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, or celebrate with the Middletons nearby. (Getty)
Prince William and Catherine, and some of the other younger royals, often spend New Year’s with their extended families.
The Wales have spent it at Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, but this year they may celebrate with Kate’s parents and siblings nearby. Or they could spend New Year’s at their new home, Forest Lodge, in Windsor.
In 2019, Zara and Mike Tindall celebrated the start of the new decade at a lavish party on Sydney Harbour with actress Rebel Wilson.
Mike and Zara Tindall rang in the New Year in 2019/2020 on Sydney Harbour with actress Rebel Wilson. (Instagram/rebelwilson)
Prince Harry and Meghan, along with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are likely to spend New Year’s Eve in Montecito, with the Duchess of Sussex known for her love of hosting parties and family gatherings.
The Danish royal family
King Frederik will deliver his annual New Year’s address live from his and Queen Mary’s home, Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, at 6pm on December 31. In 2023, his mother Queen Margrethe II used her speech to announce her abdication.
For hundreds of years the Danish royal family has hosted members of the government, dignitaries and the community from across the Kingdom of Denmark at several parties held at Amalienborg and Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen in early January.
King Frederik and Queen Mary hosted the first of the New Year’s galas since the change of throne on January 1, 2025, at Amalienborg. (Getty)
Following the change of throne in January 2024, the Royal House has made slight adjustments to the program mainly to increase the number of people invited to celebrate.
Next year, five separate galas will take place. They are hosted by the King and Queen and attended by the royal family including Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Christian and occasionally Prince Joachim and his wife, Princess Marie.
The first will be held on Thursday January 1, with a New Year’s Eve party and reception held for the government, official representatives from across Denmark and members of the Royal Court.
Then-Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrive for the 2024 New Year’s gala at Amalienborg on January 1. (Getty)
It will be held at Christian VII’s Palace at Amalienborg at 8pm.
The first party’s dress dress code calls for tiaras, grand jewels, evening gowns and royal insignia and over the years Queen Mary has stepped out in a number of iconic looks.
It is when the King and Queen wear their grandest royal insignia, with Mary last year wearing the emerald parure from the Crown Jewels – the tiara and it’s matching necklace, earrings and other jewels – for the second time. She first wore the historic Crown Jewels in formal portraits months earlier.
For hundreds of years the Danish royal family has hosted parties on New Year’s Eve. (Getty)
The second party will be held on January 5 for the judges of the Supreme Court, the Royal Life Guards and the Guard Hussar Regiment’s Officer Corps at Christian VII’s Palace at Amalienborg at 9:30am.
For the first time, a New Year’s reception for Danish mayors and regional council chairmen will be held in Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg at 10am.
That same day, the fourth New Year’s reception will be held at 2pm for the diplomatic corps, at Christiansborg Palace nearby.
In 2023, then-Crown Princess Mary wore this gown by Danish designer Lasse Spangenberg to the New Year’s Eve gala. (Ole Jensen/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, January 6, a New Year’s party will be held for officers from the Armed Forces and the Emergency Management Agency, the public sector of Denmark and selected groups with noble and honorary titles and those connected with King Frederik and Queen Mary’s royal patronages.
It will hosted inside Christiansborg Palace. King Frederik and Queen Mary will ride in the gold carriage from their home at Amalienborg to Christiansborg for the reception at 9.10am and return again later that afternoon.
Meaningful tribute hidden in this photo of Queen Mary
The Swedish and Norwegian royal families
The Swedish royal family, including King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, often use the New Year period to travel abroad for a private holiday.
King Harald will deliver an address to the Norwegian public on New Year’s Eve, as per royal tradition. (Getty)
In Norway, King Harald delivers a New Year’s speech on December 31, speaking about his hopes for the year ahead and reflecting on the past 12 months.
The monarch’s address is aired live on NRK, Norway’s national broadcaster.
This year’s speech is expected to be watched closely following a tumultuous time for the Norwegian royal family, which saw the Crown Princess’ son formally charged with rape and assault following his arrest in 2024. The criminal trial against Marius Borg Høiby will begin on February 3 next year and run until March 13, in Oslo’s District Court.
The King’s daughter, Princess Märtha Louise and her American husband, Shaman Durek Verrett, have also been in the headlines throughout the year after appearing in the Netflix documentary Rebel Royals, prompting renewed calls for the 54-year-old be stripped of her royal titles.
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