The King and Queen will carry out one of their final engagements before Christmas at an unexpected palace.
With just a week until Christmas Day, King Charles and Queen Camilla will be inside the walls of St. James’ Palace for an event close to both their hearts.
They will host a reception to mark the return from sea of HMS Prince of Wales, a ship to which both have close links.
King Charles was on board the aircraft carrier earlier this year as it prepared to head off on Operation HIGHMAST which has kept it at sea for eight months.
Since 2019, The King has been the Honorary Commodore in Chief, Aircraft Carriers and has taken a particular interest in the nation’s flagship.
He spent a long time with crew ahead of their departure on what’s been described as the country’s premier naval deployment of 2025.
Queen Camilla is Lady Sponsor of the ship since 2017 when, with her husband, she attended the naming ceremony for HMS The Prince of Wales.
Although it’s not his title now, King Charles was the Prince of Wales after whom this ship was named.
The Queen has paid several more visits to the ship since the naming ceremony at Rosyth dockyards. In 2019, she was in Portsmouth for the ship’s official Commissioning Ceremony.
In 2022, Queen Camilla toured the ship again just months before the accession of her husband as King.
The reception will take place in St. James Palace in central London which isn’t used for big public receptions such as this that often.
However, it is actually the most senior royal palace in England and is home to the Monarch’s royal court which is called St. James’ Court.
Just days ago, the disgraced younger brother of King Charles, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was at St. James for the christening of his youngest grandchild. Princess Beatrice held the baptism ceremony of her 10 month old daughter, Athena Mapelli Mozzi, at the Chapel Royal within the palace walls.
The reception is likely to be one of the last royal engagements before Christmas with King Charles and Queen Camilla set to host the Royal Family at Sandringham for the festive season.
