Great Britain: William and Kate miss royal family reunion

The British heir to the throne, Prince William, and his wife Princess Kate (both 42) missed the pre-Christmas family reunion of the British royals this Thursday. The couple traveled with their children Prince George (11), Princess Charlotte (9) and Prince Louis (6) to the family’s country estate in Norfolk, Anmer Hall, Buckingham Palace confirmed in response to a dpa request.

Meanwhile, the palace published a digital Christmas card on the short message service X in which William and Kate can be seen arm in arm with their children in a summer snapshot.

The British royals traditionally meet with their extended family for lunch at Buckingham Palace shortly before Christmas. In previous years, William and Kate had been spotted arriving several times. In 2020 and 2021 the meeting was canceled due to the corona pandemic.

William and Kate want to be there again at Sandringham

Prince Andrew (64), the second eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and brother of King Charles III. (76), had also canceled his participation in the lunch, as British media reported. The reason for this is that he recently found himself in negative headlines again because of his closeness to a suspected Chinese spy. Because of previous connections to US multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 and was at the center of an abuse scandal, Andrew has had to largely withdraw from public life.

Andrew will also not be there this year at the actual Christmas party, which the royals always celebrate at the Sandringham country estate in Norfolk. William and Kate, on the other hand, want to be there again at Sandringham, said a palace spokeswoman. The family always shows up there going to church on Christmas Day. Unlike most British families, the royals give presents on Christmas Eve – a tradition they owe to their German ancestors.