Members of The Royal Family attend The Queen’s Christmas dinner

The Queen hosted her traditional pre-Christmas dinner at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday for members of The Royal Family.

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Proving that she is firmly part of the family, Prince Harry’s fiancee, Meghan Markle, also attended the event – an occasion where she met many members of Harry’s family for the first time.

Senior royals and extended members of Her Majesty’s family are invited to Her Majesty’s Christmas dinner each year at Buckingham Palace – a rare occasion where everybody gets together.

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Among the first guests to arrive were The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge who shared a car with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall followed closely behind, waving at tourists who managed to get a glimpse of the royals.

Other royals in attendance included Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duchess of Kent, The York Family and Princess Anne & her family.

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The dinner, which has now become an annual occurrence, is held for those members of the Royal Family who do not often get invited to Sandringham on Christmas Day.

Those who will be at Sandringham this year include the Cambridge family and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – the first royal fiancee to be invited to the gathering.

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Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh are expected to set off to Sandringham within the next couple of days to start their Christmas break.

Sandringham has been privately owned by the royal family since 1862 after it was purchased by Queen Victoria at the request of her son and future King, Prince Edward.

It has remained close to the royal family since, and it is from here where the Queen’s Christmas speech is broadcast. The topic and issues raised in this year’s speech are not yet known.