Real reason George, Charlotte and Louis get two Christmases
The Royal Family will soon be enjoying the festive season at Sandringham in Norfolk - but there will be multiple celebrations.
King Charles loves royal Christmases at Sandringham and he will be counting down the days until the big day, following his Christmas lunch held at Buckingham Palace earlier this week. For Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, they have a chance to celebrate Christmas both with their royal grandparents and Princess Catherine's mum and dad, Michael and Carole Middleton.
This means doubling up on the festivities, as the Middletons join the Waleses at Amner Hall, where they have an open-plan kitchen-dining room, which gives them plenty of space for family mealtimes. Ingrid Seward of Majesty Magazine said: "The King loves bringing everyone together and it’s a proper family Christmas. There’s a fair bit of juggling involved, particularly for the Wales family. I expect William, Kate and the children will be at Sandringham for the Christmas Day service alongside Charles because that’s an important show of togetherness.
Read more: Royal expert makes Princess Kate prediction after 'character assassination'
Read more: Killer that knifed Kensington Palace worker to death jailed for 27 years
In previous years, they have gone back to Anmer after church on Christmas Day for lunch with Kate’s family so they get two Christmases."
Former Royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, also shared that Christmas at Amner Hall, is slightly more informal.
She explained: "They are lucky because they have their own home close to Sandringham so they’ve always been able to wake up there, do stockings and presents and then go over to the big house for the more formal celebrations."
Prince William, Catherine and their children typically stay at Amner Hall when they’re in Sandringham over the festive period which means they can enjoy being with the wider family as well as just each other.
While the traditional Christmas Day walkabout after church sees the royals greeting members of the public in their fine clothes, Charles has relaxed the dress code at Sandringham over the festive period, according to one royal insider.
As reported in Vanity Fair, the source said: "It used to be a nightmare going to Sandringham because there used to be so many outfit changes, sometimes up to six a day. But the king has relaxed that. There won’t be so many changes but everyone will wear black tie at Christmas dinner."
Notable absentees at the Christmas gathering will include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who will spend Christmas with their family in California.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been banned from joining the royals this year after being stripped of his princely status, and his wife, Sarah Ferguson will not be included in the celebrations.
