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King Charles III

Our Royals in Havana: an historic moment for Clarence House’s Christmas card

It was a groundbreaking visit and now it’s been picked by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to celebrate the turn of the year. The Christmas card being sent by Charles and Camilla this season features a photo of them taken during their historic trip to Cuba.

The couple became the first members of the British Royal Family to visit the island in March 2019. They spent five days in Cuba as part of their tour of the Caribbean.

Now they are marking the importance of the trip by including an image of it on their Christmas card. The photo shows the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall driving through Havana in a vintage MG car. It was taken by Ramon Espinosa.

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Charles and Camilla were following in the footsteps of many visitors to Cuba where vintage car tours of the capital are a well known attraction. And they clearly enjoyed every moment of it. The photo they’ve picked shows Charles happily taking the wheel while Camilla smiles and waves alongside him.

The card was released as the Royal Family get ready for their Christmas celebrations at Sandringham. The Queen arrived at her Norfolk residence on Friday afternoon after taking the train from London. Soon afterwards, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Duke of Edinburgh had earlier made the trip to the capital for hospital treatment. The statement said that Prince Philip had been admitted as a precautionary measure and that he was being treated and observed by doctors for a ”pre-existing condition”.

It’s not clear how long Prince Philip will stay in hospital. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be joining the Queen at Sandringham in the coming days.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.