It’s Christmas, and the royals are marking the day the best way they know how — by savoring tradition.
On Wednesday, all working members of the royal family congregated in St. Mary Magdalene Church on Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have made Christmas morning mass at Sandringham Church an annual tradition, were joined by Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
King Charles and Queen Camilla led the royal family’s walk for the third year, which saw them greeting members of the public on their way to the church. Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children were close behind them.
The outing came after an especially rough year for the family, as both Charles and Kate battled cancer, and Camilla had recently missed several engagements due to pneumonia.
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, was also in attendance, as was her daughter Zara Tindall and her former rugby player husband, Mike Tindall.
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, also attended the service.
Notably, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were absent from this year’s festivities.
The disgraced Prince Andrew was also absent, and so was his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who attended the Christmas at Sandringham event last year. Their daughter Princess Eugenie spent the holiday with her in-law. Their other daughter, Princess Beatrice, was present, along with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and his son Christopher Woolf, 8. Their 3-year-old daughter, Sienna, was not seen.
Per People, Prince William has previously described the annual walk as an event he had “strong memories” of.
“My grandfather [the late Prince Philip], he used to walk so fast that there’d be huge gaps and spaces between all of us walking down, and there’d be us at the back with little legs trying to keep up,” William recalled. “You know, I think over time you start to feel quite attached to those moments and those memories before.”
As for the family’s celebrations, this year’s festivities didn’t stray from the Firm’s annual holiday plans.
This week, all members of the royal family — including Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales — sat down for their annual Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace.
The festive spread, which involves some beloved British Christmas food staples like Yorkshire puddings and Christmas black puddings, was followed by a trip to the monarch’s sprawling home in Sandringham — previously belonging to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
This week also saw Charles, 76, send out more than 750 holiday cards to politicians and other VIPs around the world — a tradition that he’s kept up since the death of his mother in 2022.
On Tuesday, the family all gathered to exchange presents after enjoying a traditional British afternoon tea.
In his bombshell 2023 memoir “Spare,” Harry wrote of Christmas Eve, “The whole family gathered to open gifts on Christmas Eve, as always, a German tradition that survived the anglicizing of the family surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.”
In the evening, the family changed into their black-tie ensembles for a festive soirée, which was enjoyed by all members of the royal family.
After attending the church service on Christmas Day, the family is expected to sit down for their festive meal at 12:45 p.m.
The royals often round out the night by playing a game of charades — a tradition that’s been in place for years.
Christmas Day also sees the monarch’s official festive message to the country aired on television. The pre-recorded video is usually broadcast at 3 p.m. local time.
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are spending the holiday at their Montecito, Calif., home with their two children, as well as Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland.
It is the sixth year in a row the couple has spent the festive season apart from Harry’s family.
