Prince William and Princess Kate could one day abandon one of the Royal Family’s Christmas traditions in order to give their three children a more normal festive celebration, a royal expert has said.
The future King and Queen, both 42, attend Sandringham every year for Christmas Day celebrations, which consists of a certain level of formality
As well as the church service on Christmas morning and the walkabout afterwards, which involves greeting members of the public, the Royal Family also have the tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve.
According to OK! magazine, this is a tradition that dates back to Queen Victoria’s time and was favoured by the late Queen Elizabeth as it meant that Christmas Day could be purely for spiritual reflection rather than gift-giving.
While this is something the royals are very much used to, one royal expert believes that Prince William and Princess Kate will – or may already – make some changes when it comes to giving presents to Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, to make Christmas more normal.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively told OK!: “I don’t think they worry particularly about how they’re perceived at Christmas but I do think that Catherine and William want to do things in a more normal way.
“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.”
She added: “I suspect that when they are King and Queen a lot of traditions will change – and the exchange of presents on Christmas Eve may well be one of them.”
Although the young family are likely to spend Christmas morning and evening at their own Norfolk home Amner Hall, they will also attend formal Christmas festivities at Sandringham hosted by the King and Queen Camilla.
This will also be attended by a number of other royals, with Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew among those normally in attendance.
Zara and Mike Tindall are also expected to spend Christmas Day at Sandringham, which could see them involved in the annual Christmas walkabout.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, along with their two children, are believed not to have received an invite.
It is reported that they will be spending Christmas at their Montecito mansion in California, where they have lived since stepping back from royal life in 2020.
