Will the royals go to Sandringham for Christmas this year?

[2anddone]

Just watching Channel 5's 2017 Sandringham: The Queen at Christmas (don't judge me I am at home with Covid!)
I love local to Sandringham and didn't realise how much input the Queen had into the Christmas traditions (choosing stocking items etc) and then staying until her ascension day in February. Just made me wonder if now the Royal Family have lost their matriarch will it be similar to so many other families Christmas once the matriarch has passed and will they now do their own thing at Christmas? I imagine Kate might like a day with her own parents or Sophie with hers or those with younger children might want to stay in their own homes

There’s no reason that Camilla’s family can’t join her on Christmas Day if they wished.

Sophie’s father has joined them, sometimes her brother also, since the loss of her mother.

I fully expect that when William is King the Middleton’s will be invited.

@JustLyra my initial thoughts was that Camillas family might join them, because its not nice or healthy for any marriage to only focus only one side of the family.
Someone else dug me up on that statement.

The Middleton's have never been invited.
And Sarah Ferguson used to have to send her children to spend the day when she was not invited. She did not have a choice to spend the day with her children instead. Alwasy seemed crazy as the children spend most of the day in the nursery.

I always imagined that they all went to one place so more security and household staff could have the day off and also The Queen wanted all her children and grandchildren there and she was The Queen after all. A chance to do things differently now. Maybe all The King’s siblings, nieces and nephews can see their in-laws this year and perhaps Camilla can invite her family.

I expect The Prince and Princess of Wales will mostly be with the King and Queen but perhaps the Middletons could go too.

It will be up to the King to make new traditions. With all the house and title swapping too it will all feel a bit unfamiliar for them and people who follow them.

@SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun never considered the staffing / security of it but you're possibly right.
I think they'll probably will stick with being together. I was clear at the jubilee celebrations that they are quite a close family.

William definitely doesn’t seem as keen as Charles on the ‘having masses of enormous houses’ thing

Hasn't let it stop him hoovering up a fourth gaff though.

They’ve never needed to be invited as William and Kate have had the choice to do alternate years.

She was despised by Prince Philip so that’s likely why that happened.

Yes just 4 at the moment

Happy to be corrected but what are the others? The Norfolk one (Anmer Hall?), the one in Windsor they have just moved into, but that’s not ‘massive’, and?

I've been wondering this too. I expect that they will stick with the traditional plan this year, for the sense of continuity. It's probably especially important this year that they are seen on the walk to church, i.e. the monarchy is strong for the future etc etc

I also think people often stick with the old Christmas traditions for awhile after the matriarch/patriarch die. Our family certainly did. Maybe things will slowly change in the next few years.

It would be a blessing not to have to go to a RF Christmas. I wonder how many of them adore it, or dread it?

I doubt they are any different to those on the myriad of threads here about Christmas Day and the angst and the potential discomfort, the travelling to and fro and pure sense of duty many feel.

However, they can travel in style and have every need catered for. Doesn't always make it happy though.

The children and adults eat Christmas lunch separately.
www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/20211206128425/royal-kids-christmas-traditions-prince-george-princess-charlotte/

Do Princess Margaret's 'children' join the RF at Christmas? I say children but really they'd be cousins of Charles and Co so probably Grandparents.

They have done at various points over the years

Happy to be corrected but what are the others? The Norfolk one (Anmer Hall?), the one in Windsor they have just moved into, but that’s not ‘massive’, and?

Two kitchen Kensington Palace apartment renovated at vast cost to the taxpayer and touted as the 'forever home', Anmer, Tam Na Ghar in Scotland left to him by profligate Great Granny with Adelaide Cottage bringing up the not insubstantial rear.

She was despised by Prince Philip

Ironic really considering how his son turned out.

I have just been watching the film Spencer on Amazon Prime about Diana’s Christmas at Sandringham and it makes it look bloody awful, not to mention absurdly overstaffed and overcatered…

Yes I'd imagine they would go there as usual

Spending one day together is hardly “focussing on one side of the family”. You seem a bit obsessed by the importance of Christmas in the scheme of things. Many thousands of people have to compromise on their Christmas arrangements, usually because they’re helping to keep the country going while other people enjoy themselves in their little Christmas bubbles.

Nope . I heard that they are all booked up for Tenerife.

The Telegraph has ‘sources’ who say it will be everyone at Sandringham as usual to maintain a sense of continuity.

Tam Na Ghar in Scotland left to him by profligate

I believe that it’s been established that this does not belong to them but was used while he was at Uni. It belongs to the crown estate

I believe that it’s been established that this does not belong to them but was used while he was at Uni. It belongs to the crown estate

It's at their sole disposal which is why it appears in lists of their homes but unsurprisingly it appears to be shrouded in the usual royal secrecy.

Interestingly enough Wills is now Charles' Highgrove landlord 🎩

It's a difficult choice, it's really hard going through all those 'firsts' after a parent dies - first Christmas without them, first birthday etc - and the royals have lots more significant dates to process through than the rest of us.

It's going to be a hard decision for Charles whether to keep things mostly the same Christmas at Sandringham etc, which means going through the familiar motions but without the Queen there - which can make an absence feel stronger.

Or go for something completely new so that it's not on everyone's minds to compare all the time. Christmas in Balmoral?

They might do one round of everything the same so that they go through that first year of grieving and then start to make some changes.

Hahaha

They are quite a bit younger than Charles, Lady Sarah Chatto is 58 and her brother is 60. Their children are from 20 to about 28 I think ? Neither are Grandparents yet.