As the festive season officially kicks into action, the Royal Family’s Christmas plans are coming into focus, with a familiar blend of ceremony, family gatherings and long-standing tradition. While Sandringham remains the emotional heart of royal Christmas, celebrations begin in London before the King makes his annual journey to Norfolk.
The first major fixture is the pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, held shortly before the King departs for Sandringham. The event is the one opportunity each year for the extended Royal Family to come together under one roof to mark the season. It allows extended members of the King’s family who would not normally spend Christmas at Sandringham to join the monarch for a festive meal. In scale and significance, it is the closest the Windsors come to a full family Christmas dinner.
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Once the London gathering has taken place, King Charles is expected to travel to Sandringham, continuing a tradition deeply associated with his mother. Queen Elizabeth II brought the family together there throughout her reign and, despite brief periods when Christmas was spent at Windsor, it was the Norfolk estate she most closely associated with the season. The King has maintained that pattern, reinforcing Sandringham’s role as the setting for the monarchy’s most private celebrations.
Christmas Eve will again feature a more contemporary addition to the royal calendar. The Princess of Wales’s televised carol concert, pre-recorded last week, will be broadcast on Christmas Eve. Now an established fixture, the service reflects Catherine’s emphasis on community, compassion and service, offering a quieter, reflective moment before Christmas Day itself.
Christmas plans on December 25th
Attention then turns back to Sandringham for Christmas Day. The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to attend with their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – joining the King and Queen Camilla for the traditional walk to St Mary Magdalene Church. The church service remains one of the few occasions when members of the Royal Family are seen together by the public during the festive period.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson will not be present. It remains unclear whether their daughters will attend. Princess Beatrice joined the family last year after cancelling plans to spend Christmas in Italy due to late-stage pregnancy and medical advice not to travel, while Princess Eugenie spent the holidays with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and their two sons, August and Ernest.
There will also be interest in the presence of Princess Anne’s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips. Phillips announced his engagement to Harriet Sperling earlier this year, and a Sandringham Christmas would mark her first festive season as a royal bride-to-be – a small but notable moment within the wider family.
Christmas plans at Sandringham follow a well-worn rhythm. The family attends church in the morning at St Mary Magdalene – before returning to the house for lunch. Gifts are traditionally exchanged on Christmas Eve, a custom introduced by Prince Albert and still observed today.
The afternoon is spent largely out of the public eye, with walks on the estate, television and games providing a contrast to the formality of the morning. Despite the structure, those close to the family have long described the day as one of warmth and familiarity, particularly for the younger royals.
The King’s Speech
The celebrations conclude with the King’s Broadcast – the fourth of his reign. Recorded in advance, the message has become an important marker of Charles’s kingship, offering reflection on the year past and a sense of continuity for the year ahead.
Together, the Christmas plans paint a picture of a period rooted firmly in tradition but shaped by a changing family. From the large gathering at Buckingham Palace to the more intimate celebrations at Sandringham, the season remains one of togetherness, duty and quiet ritual at the heart of the monarchy.
