As families across the UK prepare for a Christmas feast and various get-togethers, it seems the royals are no different. Beginning the seasonal festivities, King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort hosted a huge Christmas lunch bringing together dozens of members of the royal family.
According to the Mirror, before the royals head off to Sandringham for their main celebrations later this week, the monarch hosts a huge Christmas lunch. Back in 2019, pre-covid, the late Queen brought her loved ones together at Buckingham Palace for a 70-plus guest event. This year's event is the first to be hosted by King Charles, and took place on Tuesday, December 20, at Windsor Castle.
While there are no photographs from inside the private event, several members of the royal family were photographed arriving and leaving the event, including King Charles, Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and the Tindall family, who were all pictured in the Express.
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Mike and Zara Tindall, along with their children, arrived at the event by car. In the past, I'm A Celeb fourth place finalist and England rugby player, Mike, who is married to the King's niece, lifted the curtain on the event and it seems that even though children such as Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are invited to the lunch, they don't sit with the other royals. Mike indicated the younger royals have their own room where they enjoy their Christmas meal.
Back in 2019, Mike spoke about the event during his rugby podcast after co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne teased him about which of the seven tables at the event he was given a seat at. They asked: "Do you find yourself upgrading every year and getting closer to the main table or are you off out the back? Is there a promotion and relegation based on the year's performance? Because if there is I imagine you're pretty much sitting on the right-hand side of Her Majesty."
While Mike stayed quiet during the jokes, he later added: "I was on Prince Charles's table, it was lovely." He then revealed that younger royal, including his children Mia, Lena and Lucas, have their own table in a separate room away from the adults. He explained: "This is the family lunch, there were seven tables so there must have been about 70 of us there. The kiddies have their own little one in a different room."
Meanwhile, other Christmas traditions could see an additional member of the royals attending. According to the Mirror, Louis is set to join the royal family’s Christmas Day celebrations after stealing the show at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. As senior members of the family return to tradition and come together at Sandringham for Christmas, the younger generation is expected to step into the limelight with the cheeky four-year-old set to join the family’s traditional Christmas Day walk to church for the first time.
However, the final decision about the important Sandringham milestone, will not be made until the day itself. Royal fans can also expect another first this Christmas as King Charles makes history with his first festive speech. His address will make him the first male monarch to speak to the nation on TV on Christmas Day.
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