What’s New
Prince William and Princess Kate will not attend King Charles III’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace in London.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are already at their Anmer Hall country retreat, in Sandringham, Norfolk, England, where they will spend the holidays with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
They will therefore miss the pre-Christmas lunch held today at Buckingham Palace in the English capital for a wide cross-section of the royal family.
Princess Kate and Prince William attend the ceremonial welcome for the Amir of Qatar, at Horse Guards Parade, in London, on December 3, 2024. They will miss King Charles III’s pre-Christmas lunch.
Princess Kate and Prince William attend the ceremonial welcome for the Amir of Qatar, at Horse Guards Parade, in London, on December 3, 2024. They will miss King Charles III’s pre-Christmas lunch.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
The Wales family will, however, attend the royal celebrations over Christmas in Sandringham, meaning they will still get a chance to spend family time with Charles, Queen Camilla and the rest of the family.
Fans can also likely look forward to seeing them on the walk to church on Christmas morning.
Why it Matters
Kate’s year has been dominated by her health crisis and this latest decision to skip a major royal Christmas celebration will likely be interpreted in that context.
While she has been attending more engagements in the latter part of the year, including her recent Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey, she is still pulling out of certain jobs.
Kate attended the ceremonial welcome for the Amir of Qatar on Horse Guards Parade, in London, on December 3, for example, but skipped the state banquet that evening.
Two more Royals are a no show at the King’s Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace today.
Prince William and Kate, and children, are already in Norfolk (their house Anmer Hall in Sandringham).
As we reported yesterday, and for different reasons, Prince Andrew and Fergie are not…
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) December 19, 2024
What to Know
The pre-Christmas lunch is held annually, including during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2018 was the occasion on which there was a backlash against Princess Michael of Kent for wearing a racist brooch.
Kate and William will not be the only ones skipping the occasion after Prince Andrew pulled out of attending the event in the middle of a new scandal over his association with an alleged Chinese spy.
Yang Tengbo, of Hampton Group, was described in a court filing as a close confidante of the Duke of York and attended his 60th birthday party.
A March 2020 letter from a senior aide of Andrew’s described how they bypassed former royal private secretaries during a relationship with signs of secrecy.
Yang denies being a spy and has said nothing he did was unlawful while Andrew’s spokesperson said all contact was severed as soon as he was notified of Yang’s connection to a Chinese intelligence agency.
What Happens Next
William and Kate will already be enjoying some quiet family time with George, Charlotte and Louis in Norfolk, where the princess is known to enjoy cold water swimming.
They will likely not now be seen publicly until Christmas day when they are expected to walk to church in Sandringham.
In past years, the Wales children have enjoyed collecting flowers and gifts from well-wishes.
Meanwhile, King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the other royals will enjoy the annual pre-Christmas dinner today at Buckingham Palace.
It will be a private event, with no cameras on the inside, but photographers outside the palace generally capture attendees coming and going.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about Charles and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.