Windsor Christmas Lunch

[antelopevalley]

I am surprised William, Kate and their children were not present. I had thought this was a key Royal Family event. I wonder if they will join the family for Christmas Eve?

"The king and Queen Consort Camilla, who are still living in their London residence Clarence House, were the first to arrive. Charles’ brother Prince Edward arrived with his wife, Sophie Countess of Wessex, and their daughter Lady Louise Windsor, who recently finished her first semester at William and Kate’s alma mater St. Andrews in Scotland. Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence also attended, along with Zara and Mike Tindall, and their children, Mia, Lena and Lucas, who were photographed smiling in the backseat of their Range Rover as they left the castle. The Telegraph reported that Prince Andrew was also set to attend, but he was not photographed arriving.
A handful of the late queen’s cousins also made the trip to Windsor. The Duke of Kent, arrived with his granddaughter, Lady Marina Windsor, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor, and her family. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent also attended.
Usually Prince William and Kate Middleton attend along with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, but this year they were absent, having reportedly traveled to Anmer Hall, their home on the Sandringham Estate, when the term ended at Lambrook, the school they attend in Berkshire."

www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/12/king-charles-pre-christmas-lunch-at-windsor-castle

Maybe. It does seem to point to tensions.....

Only in your dreams antelopevalley

Kate and Williams home is in the grounds of the castle so there would be no pictures of them driving into the grounds!

They could still drive through the grounds and not be seen!

Yes, that’s true! If they walked OR drove from Adelaide Cottage, the press would not have seen them.

So that Vanity Fair article is using a story from Hello which says they were ‘noticeably’ absent ie not spotted by the press - and then says so one reason they are not there is they ‘may’ have gone to Norfolk for the school holidays.

So no one actually knows if they were there or not and no one knows where they were if they weren’t there.

Please stop

Maybe something came up? Sometimes life gets in the way and we can't take part in family traditions some years.

I think it very refreshing that we don't know whether they were there or not - they don' t need to document their movements for private functions.

Maybe they were busy doing a pre-Christmas deep clean and a panic run to Tesco for the bits they forgot when doing the big shop.

They were all poorly with that horrid cold / sore throat / virus and looked after by granny Carol.

It was said they are in Norfolk - one or more of the kids having a cold or cough is not exactly unlikely, they wouldn't want to pass it on

It was reported there would be no photos due to the short driving distance !

It’s like the press have forgotten where they live now.

I don’t recall them ever speculating that the Queen wasn’t at BP when it was held there, even though there was no photos of her driving in…

None of the ones that live in Windsor, or have parents who live there, were photographed. It’s obvious they came on the road through the estate. Why would the press see them. Peter wasn’t there either but I would assume he may have come with William. He and his girls like to stay in Windsor.

It was speculated that they might be in Norfolk because no one saw them drive into Windsor by one magazine and then another repeated the speculation using the phrase "reportedly" making it sound like someone actually knew they were there.

So William and Kate might reportedly be at Anmer Hall, and might stay there for three more days, ready for Christmas dinner in Norfolk, or they might possibly have had a terrible screaming row with the rest of the family and just got mardy and not gone for the Windsor lunch. Oh, I think I shall stay awake half the night worrying about the endless possibilities of another crisis.

When the thread title said 'Windsor Christmas Lunch' I thought I might be able to read what the courses were - in French, probably. I tapped on it in gleeful anticipation, only to be disappointed. I wonder what they could choose for first course. Do you think there would have been an alternative to turkey for the main course? I would hope so.

I thought Kate planted a tree at Westminster Abbey in the afternoon before the Carol Concert was recorded. She's probably spent this afternoon planting some more on the Sandringham Estate, probably dressed in maroon wellies-this year's 'in' colour. Rachel Riley was wearing it today.

I'd love a thread reporting on courses in French, table decorations and seating plan.

This is why lots of them live in Windsor. The home park is massive and they could travel around it all day without being seen, the homes (frogmore, adelaide cottage, royal lodge etc) are all within the grounds of the home park. Within the wider great park there are also many roads and entrances into the home park ( the grounds of the actual castle) that are very well concealed so they can quite easily go about their business without being seen.

Who cares? 🙄

We don't know. The thread is about what the newspapers are reporting.

Have we really not learned to not pay attention to the media yet?

Patronising is a skill you have learned well though. It seems to be particularly prized by middle-class women.