The royal residences are ready to welcome the Christmas of the Windsors. The first holidays after the cancer diagnoses of King Charles III and Kate Middleton and the great fear for their future. The tabloids talk about celebrations marked by tradition, closeness and the cohesion of the royal family after months of anguish. For the Princess of Wales, in particular, these holidays mark her definitive return to the public eye, which will culminate with the fourth edition of the Christmas show of which she is the mind and heart, founder and godmother. Harry and Meghan would appear to be excluded from the family picture for the sixth year in a row. It is not clear whether the couple will remain in California for Christmas or whether they will fly to London, but not to meet Charles III, but to visit Althorp, the residence where Lady Diana grew up.
Christmas at the Palace
At the end of November 2024, Christmas decorations were unveiled in the State Apartments of Windsor Castle and Holyrood Palace, the official Scottish residence of the royal family. In St. George’s Hall of the Castle, reports Town and Country Magazine, a twenty-foot (about six meter) Nordmann Fir tree is on display, which comes from Windsor Great Park and will be replanted after the Holidays. The tree, informs the Royal Collection Trust, is surmounted by the Garter Star, the symbol of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, but among the decorations there are all the emblems of the Order. A second fifteen-foot Christmas tree has been placed in the Crimson Drawing Room. The dominant shades are red and gold, with which the staircase leading to the State Apartments and the Waterloo Chamber were also adorned. This year, for the first time, bespoke decorations were also made in Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House at Windsor Castle, as the “largest and most famous dolls house in the world”the Royal Collection Trust informs us, turns one hundred years old in 2024. At Holyrood House, as usual, the table was set in the Royal Dining Room, although the room will not be used by the royals for Christmas.
The most touching decoration
This year, on the Highgrove estate, the King and Queen wanted to include two ornaments representing the beloved Jack Russell Terrier dogs of the Queen Camilla: Bluebell and Beth, who died in November 2024 from an incurable cancer. The decorations, embellished with wire work and sequins, have also been listed in Highgrove’s gift shop for £12.95 each. This decision, explains Hello, would have come last September, before Beth’s illness and disappearance were made public and would be part of a shop expansion project that has been planned for a long time.
William and Kate at Sandringham
The unveiling of the Christmas decorations at the Palace officially opens the festive period for the British royals. From that moment the tabloids begin to speculate on the Christmas of Carlo, Camilla, William And Kate. Indeed, this year the press began to formulate hypotheses several days earlier, thanks to some rumors about Harry and Meghan’s Christmas plans that have been circulating for several weeks. Last November 28, the Mirror confirmed that William, Kate and their children will be at Sandringham to celebrate Christmas with the King and Queen. Charles III, sources say, is “enthusiastic” to the idea of spending time with his grandchildren after such a difficult year and would have already had the Palace prepared for their arrival, personally supervising every detail. Anyone who saw him busy organizing the Christmas party guarantees that he is the sovereign “happy and healthy”.
The family reunited
Carlo and Camilla are even thinking of postponing their return to London for “spend New Year’s Eve in Norfolk (also). At the beginning of January the sovereigns will travel to Balmoral and return to public engagements towards the end of the first ten days of the month. “The King benefited a lot from being in nature, spending time outdoors during chemotherapy,” an insider told the Mirror, explaining why Her Majesty would like to extend her stay to Sandringham. “He believes it helped him tremendously throughout his odyssey. He is looking forward to spending quality time with as many family members as possible.”. Among these there will also be the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with their children and Prince Andrew, despite the disagreements with the King due to the alleged eviction from the Royal Lodge.
Kate’s Christmas between public and private
For four years now, the Princess of Wales carries on a new tradition involving the royal family and the public: the Christmas show at Westminster Abbey “Together At Christmas Carol Service”. This year the event, supported by the Royal Foundation, will be recorded on 6 December 2024 and aired, as always, on Christmas Eve on ITV1 and ITVX. Alongside Kate there will be the royal family and 1600 guests selected from the kingdom’s charities. This year the theme chosen is solidarity. The show, states Kensington Palace, quoted by the BBC, will celebrate people “from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy” towards those who need help. Will be “a time to reflect on the importance of love and empathy and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult moments of our lives.” The princess wants “celebrate the many people who support those in need, individuals who have inspired, counseled, comforted and above all shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive.”
The princess’s message
It is not difficult to guess how much the main theme of “Together At Christmas Carol Service” is connected to Kate’s illness and the terrible year she has just had. In this case, public and private almost seem to merge. The future Queen has put herself, all the fears and hopes of the last few months into this Christmas show. The experience he lived also returns in the touching words he wrote in the letter of invitation to the event, reported by Harper’s Bazaar and People: “Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a time for celebration and joy, but it also gives us an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all. When we stop and step away from the pressures of everyday life, then we find the space to live our lives with an open heart, with love, with kindness and forgiveness, so much of what the spirit of Christmas is made of.” Kate reiterates that the Christmas story urges us to “reflects on our vulnerability and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy…encourages us to turn towards love, not fear” and concludes: “Love is the light that can shine even in our darkest moments.”
Harry Meghan’s Christmas mystery
It is not yet clear where the holidays will take place Harry And Meghan. A source told People that “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not receive an invitation to the Royal Christmas at Sandringham this year,” because of this “expected to spend the holiday season in the United States”with their children. In fact, Harry and Meghan’s absence was almost a given, given such tense family relations. The couple has not participated in the royal family celebrations for six years now: for things to change it will take time, but above all the will to make them change on both sides. Last September an insider revealed to the Express an indiscretion that raised hopes of a return to London for Harry and Meghan (especially the latter, who has not set foot in England since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022): “Charles (Spencer)”Lady Diana’s brother, “invited Harry, Meghan and the children to Althorp this Christmas”or in the residence where William and Harry’s mother spent their childhood. For some reason unknown until now, however, the alleged invitation seems to have faltered.
Finally, the source reduced expectations of peace, or at least a Christmas truce, between Windsor and Sussex: “It is highly unlikely that the invitation would be extended (to Sandringham) and I do not believe, however, that (the Sussexes) would accept it.”