The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will not join Queen Elizabeth for Christmas.
Prince William, his wife Catherine, and their three children, Princes George and Louis, eight and three, and six-year-old Princess Charlotte – will spend 25 December in Norfolk with the duchess’ family in Norfolk following the announcement earlier this week that the 95-year-old monarch will remain at Windsor Castle for the festive period, rather than make her traditional trip to her Sandringham Estate.
However, the family are still expected to see William’s grandmother at some point over the next week.
It is not currently known which of Catherine’s family will be with them on Christmas Day at their Anmer Hall residence.
While William and Catherine won’t be heading to Windsor, the prince’s father, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have confirmed they will be spending the day with the queen.
A Clarence House spokesperson said: “The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be with Her Majesty The Queen on Christmas Day.”
It is believed Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their children, Lady Louise, 18, and 14-year-old James, Viscount Severn will also be there to celebrate with his mother on her first Christmas without her husband Prince Philip, who passed away in April.
The queen’s other son, Prince Andrew, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, are also likely to join the group.
However, the monarch’s daughter Princess Anne won’t be in attendance because she is isolating at her Gloucester home after her husband, Captain Timothy Lawrence, tested positive for COVID-19.
The queen had intended to follow tradition by spending Christmas at her royal residence in Norfolk, but she recently cancelled those plans amid rising levels of the Omicron variant in the UK.
The decision “reflects a precautionary approach”, according to Buckingham Palace aides, who confirmed that it was a personal decision taken by the monarch.