King Charles and Queen Camilla at Christmas 2023.Photo:Samir Hussein/WireImage
Samir Hussein/WireImage
King CharlesandQueen Camillaare spending Christmas with family.
The monarch, 75, and his wife, 76, lead the royal family during their annual walk to church on Christmas Day. Each year, they attend the service at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Norfolk, near the royal residence ofSandringham.
Both King Charles and Queen Camilla walked with an umbrella, ready for any rain.
Last year — during thefirst Christmas of King Charles' reign, taking place just months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth — the royals returned to the traditional holiday outing for the first time since 2019 as they had to scrap a large family gathering in 2020 and 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Christmas 2023.Samir Hussein/WireImage
This year is set to be an extra special holiday for Queen Camilla. While Camilla would leave the royal family’s Christmas gathering in the afternoon to spend time with her children and grandchildren on the holiday in years past, King Charles reportedly invited his wife’s family to Sandringham this year.
The expanded guest list may mean a change of venue for the turkey feast. In a departure from the past and the days of the late Queen Elizabeth, the royals could sit down for lunch in the bigger ballroom rather than the dining room.
Other longstanding holiday traditions will likely be kept, from exchanging gag gifts on Christmas Eve to watching King Charles' speech broadcast at 3 p.m. on Christmas.
“Charles has always been very, very fond of Sandringham,” royal biographer Ingrid Sewardtold PEOPLE last year. “Christmas within any family is always about tradition. He will keep it the same as it ever was.”
Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William and Prince Louis on Christmas 2023.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
As in recent years, King Charles' sonPrince Harryand daughter-in-lawMeghan Markledid not attend the Christmas gathering in the U.K. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in California with their son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet, have not spent Christmas with the royals since 2018.
source: people.com
