The more the merrier! With a plethora of royals joining Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, at Sandringham this year, Tatler reveals all the names you could see on the Norfolk estate for Christmas
Image may contain Charles Prince of Wales Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Laurence Badie
King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Prince William, the Prince of Wales and Mia Tindall attend the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church
Samir Hussein
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson may not be attending the Christmas at Sandringham this year, but there are still a plethora of royal guests who will be descending on Norfolk this winter. As the Prince of Wales revealed earlier this week, the Firm are expecting a large group of friends and family to attend the festivities.
In addition to the regular royals, like Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, a grand total of 45 friends and family will head to the estate, Prince William told a family on a visit to the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment. Holding court at the festive party in Bulford, Wiltshire, the father–of-three was acting in his role as the regiment’s colonel-in-chief, but remarked that he had certainly not been planning the festive season with military precision. ‘Am I ready for Christmas?’ he joked, ‘No, no way am I ready.’ (Nor, it seems, was he prepared for the occasion in Wiltshire, with the Prince blaming his new equerry for his lack of a Christmas jumper.)
Image may contain Prince William Duke of Cambridge Dining Table Furniture Table Architecture Building and Dining Room
Prince William, Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief, 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment, visits the Regiment for a Christmas event for families at Picton Barracks
WPA Pool/Getty Images
Between handing out presents and meeting with the Mercian Regiment’s mascot, 18-month-old Swaledale ram, Private Derby, Prince William also revealed that 45 royals will journey to Sandringham for Christmas this month. He was, he said, looking forward to seeing them all ‘in the same room’, considering how ‘spread out’ the family usually is.
Royal Christmases, we know, typically involve heart family dinners and long walks with the dogs throughout the Norfolk estate. The lucky 45 to receive an invitation can expect games of charades over lunch, black tie banquets, and of course the traditional service at St Mary Magdalene Church.
It sounds like there’ll be no room at the 2,000-acre inn when the royal family ring in Christmas day this year. And while we won’t know which of the Windsors, precisely, will have RSVPd for the big day, Tatler can reveal the most likely candidates for decking the halls at Sandringham – as well as some surprise picks for royal favourites who could well have bagged an invite
Image may contain Charles Prince of Wales Prince George of Cambridge La Parka Person Clothing Glove and Coat
ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images
1/12
King Charles and Queen Camilla
No doubt holding court at the head of the Christmas table, King Charles will be hosting the festivities at Sandringham for the third time this year. Hopefully Queen Camilla has an easier time of things over lunch than she did when she flambéd a figgy pudding this week: the Queen poured a jug of whiskey over the dessert before setting it alight with a cautionary ‘hold on to your hair’.
Image may contain Prince William Duke of Cambridge Prince George of Cambridge Brent Bailey Kaycee Stroh and Person
Samir Hussein
2/12
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis
It sounds like the Wales clan will all be joining Prince William for Christmas at Sandringham this year. The young royals, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis always delight the crowds on the walk to St Mary’s. Unlike millions of people around the country, though, they have no need to tune into ITV1 to watch Kate Middleton’s Together At Christmas concert, having supported the Princess in person last week.