While the Royal Family have continued many of the decades-old traditions championed by the late Queen Elizabeth throughout her 70-year reign, slowly but surely, the likes of King Charles have begun introducing a few changes.
While this Christmas included many of the same traditions – from their incredibly old-fashioned Christmas dinner to the annual Sandringham walkabout and church service – there was suggestion that some subtle changes took place behind the scenes.
From Queen Camilla’s surprising go-to outfit to lounge around in ushering in a more relaxed atmosphere to the banning of photos as the guest list was extended, Charles is showing signs of being more secure in his reign and moving away from following what’s come before.
And now it’s been reported that one major departure from tradition will include the King and Queen’s January plans.
Whereas the late Queen Elizabeth would stay in Sandringham as long as possible after the festivities, it’s thought the King will spend most of January in Scotland as he cements a new royal tradition.
It was particularly important for the late Queen to remain at Sandringham until February as it marked the anniversary of her ascension to the throne. After her father’s unexpected death in 1952, Elizabeth became Queen on February 6.
While she was in Africa at the time, her father – George VI – died at Sandringham. This is why the Queen was thought to have stayed behind in Sandringham, enjoying the memories of her late father.
While Charles and Camilla spent New Year’s Eve at Sandringham, they are expected to fly up to Aberdeenshire within the next day or two where they will spend the next few weeks at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate.
Birkhall is thought to be one of the King’s favourite residences, and the one which he and Camilla consider to be their marital home. It was even the location where Charles proposed marriage to Camilla, and where they would later honeymoon in 2005.
Charles has spoken of his love for Birkhall in the past, in particular the garden.
He told Country Life, “It is such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. It is a childhood garden, and all I’ve done, really, is enhance it a bit.”
Before absconding to Aberdeen for the New Year, King Charles and Queen Camilla were spotted for one last appearance in Sandringham, where they were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at the church.
For the New Year service, Camilla took a cue from Kate Middleton’s all-blue Christmas Day outfit with a light blue coat and matching feathered hat.
Both the King and Queen appeared in good spirits, talking with fans on their first public sighting since the Christmas walkabout where they were joined by the likes of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence (in matching scarves, nonetheless), and Sarah Ferguson, who joined the family for the first walkabout in over 30 years.
