Now that Christmas is just a few days away, celebrations have already begun for the royal family. On Thursday, that meant a pre-Christmas lunch hosted at Buckingham Palace, but two important members of the family (and their three kids) were missing. So why did Kate Middleton and Prince William decide against attending this year?
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King Charles hosted the event on December 19.
The lunch takes place every year, but over the past couple of years, it was held at Windsor Castle. This time around, members of the royal family gathered at Buckingham Palace in central London to spend the afternoon together. Photographers captured some familiar royals as they arrived.
Both Beatrice and Eugenie were there.
Though the sisters have both decided not to join the family for Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk this year, in favor of spending the holidays with their in-laws, both Eugenie and Beatrice were at the lunch. In photos obtained by Hello! magazine, Eugenie and Beatrice arrived in separate cars with their husbands — Jack Brooksbank and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, respectively — and children.
Will, Kate, and their kids were missing.
As People reported, now that George, Charlotte, and Louis are officially on break from school for the holiday, Will and Kate took the kids and headed out to their estate in Windsor early. They’re still planning to be at the Sandringham celebration, as usual, but it seems there was no sense in them making the 100-mile trip to London for the lunch.
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Plenty of other royals did make it to lunch, though.
Along with Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie were there. So were Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence. Notably absent was Prince Andrew, who is also skipping Christmas at Sandringham after his business adviser was accused of being a Chinese spy.
Will and Kate also released their family Christmas card on Thursday.
The card features a photo of the family we saw earlier this year — in the video Kate shared to announce that she had completed chemotherapy.
“Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas,” said the family’s Instagram caption.
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