Princess Kate dealt William ultimatum after rejecting Queen Elizabeth’s…
In the early years of their relationship, Princess Kate and Prince William navigated the complexities of royal traditions and personal boundaries.
While Christmas at Sandringham is effectively now a permanent fixture for Kate, William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, it’s been revealed this was not always the case, as one year Kate put her foot down.
Kate, demonstrating her commitment to tradition and personal principles, once declined an invitation from Prince William and Queen Elizabeth II, which was for her to attend their estate in Norfolk with the wider Royal Family for festivities.
Prince William allegedly asked Kate to join his family at Sandringham way back in 2006, according to royal expert Tina Brown, who authored the bestselling biography The Palace Papers.
It turned out that Kate required just one thing to say yes to a Sandringham Christmas – a ring on her finger.
The royal biographer Tina Brown confirmed Kate’s intentions when replying initially to William: “Kate, reflecting the confident mood of her Philip Treacy hat, maintained her resolve that she would not go to such a significant Royal Family gathering unless she had a ring on her finger.”
Royal historian Robert Lacey confirmed these reports in his book Battle of Brothers. He explains: “By 2006, the couple had been dating seriously for the best part of five years. Yet when William invited Kate to join him that year at Sandringham for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas lunch, she refused.
“It was the first time the Queen had extended such an invitation to an unregistered ‘girlfriend’ but Kate had her own take on that break with tradition: she would go to Sandringham on Christmas Day only when she was engaged and had a ring to prove it.”
By choosing to wait until their engagement, it is suggested Kate ensured that her participation in such intimate family gatherings was both appropriate and meaningful.
Kate and William first announced their engagement in November 2010, and Kate joined the Royal Family for Christmas at Sandringham in 2011, following their wedding in April of that year.
This year, the Royal Family are gearing up for a big Christmas Day with 45 family members expected to join in the celebrations at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
The Prince of Wales recently hinted at a large gathering, and it follows the difficult year battled by King Charles and Kate’s cancer diagnoses.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK!: “After the year they’ve had, I’m sure it’s going to mean the world to the King and Queen to have as many of their family as possible joining them for Christmas. And, as the number of youngsters increases, so the celebrations become more and more child oriented. Which is exactly what Christmas should be all about.”
During William’s attendance at a festive gathering in Wiltshire for the families of the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment, he shared in a light-hearted moment: “We’ll be in Norfolk, at Sandringham. We’ll be 45 for Christmas. It won’t be quiet, it will be noisy.
