Princess Charlotte and her fellow royals celebrated Christmas together, as usual, at Sandringham. The royal Christmas has had its long-standing traditions for decades, but this year was particularly special as it was the first time the family spent the holidays without the late Queen Elizabeth.
On Christmas Day, William Kate, their three children, and the rest of the royals visited St Mary’s Church for the annual Christmas Service. Having three children isn’t always easy, and when it comes to helping them get ready, it can be quite a struggle.
Where it concerns Princess Charlotte, helping her get ready for public events has reportedly been somewhat challenging for her mother, Kate. Not least because of her hair, a skill her parents are yet to master.
This year, the British Royal Family, as always, spent the Christmas holidays at the Sandringham House Estate. One can imagine that these days, with many young children and grandchildren, royal Christmases are certainly louder and more hectic than before.
William and Kate are keen on continuing to celebrate Christmas with their family each year at Sandringham. They want to give their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, a yearly family tradition – not only because it’s fun, but because the couple wants to give their kids as “normal” a life as possible.
Royal Christmas at Sandringham
“It’s important to them that their kids share childhood traditions like their school pals,” an insider told Us Weekly in 2018. “They’re going all-out to make it extra special.”
Interestingly, this year’s Christmas didn’t include staying with grandpa King Charles and Camilla for the entire holiday season.
According to royal expert Jeremy Archer, William and Kate were looking to stay at Sandringham for Christmas but then travel to Berkshire to spend New Year’s Eve with Kate’s parents. Reportedly, though, William and Kate decided not to attend another traditional Christmas activity of the Royal Family.
The couple opted to begin the holidays in Norfolk, thereby missing King Charles’ Christmas lunch at Windsor Castle.
Another royal expert, Jennie Bond, believed the Prince and Princess of Wales would Sandringham after the significant Christmas celebrations.
“The younger generation might want to do their own thing for at least part of the time,” she said. “So they may just have Christmas lunch [at Sandringham].”
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Bond added: “I think the King’s Christmas plans might be up in the air a bit. The younger royals will probably want to spend time with their own families, so I think the two or three-day celebrations of the past may, indeed, be a thing of the past.”
“While I imagine there will be a gathering at Sandringham, whether it will be quite as extended as it used to be with the Queen and with quite as many people, I’m not sure.”
Princess Charlotte received a special Christmas gift
The Royal Family has been known to gift each other “fun presents” for Christmas. For example, Kate Middleton once gave Harry a “girlfriend kit” before he met Meghan Markle, and Meghan once gifted William a special spoon with the engraving “cereal killer.”
But for the children, Christmas will always be a wonderful day for presents. For millions of kids worldwide, opening presents on Christmas Day is immeasurably exciting. George, Charlotte, and Louis might be royalty, but at the end of the day, they’re children, and received not only gifts from their family, but also from a few other people as well.
While walking to St. Mary’s Church on Christmas Day for the traditional Christmas service, Luis and Charlotte were spotted holding some new gifts in the form of festive gnomes, as reported by Express.
They were given to them by well-wishers on their way to the church – Charlotte was pictured holding her own type of toy, known as a “gonk,” which wore a pink hat.
On the walk to church, Kate Middleton spoke to some of the fans who had come to wish the royals a Merry Christmas. To one, she said that the children had gotten “lots of lovely things” for Christmas. William added that they had received not one, but many gifts.
“They’ve had enough presents,” the Prince told a person in the crowd.
Naturally, spending quality time with the family on Christmas is a priority for many. However, activities and traditions are, of course, different depending on who you ask.
Board game tradition has royal kids annoyed
For the royals, the Christmas holiday is when they finally get a chance to sit down together and enjoy some board games.
But what do they usually play? William has previously revealed that all his children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, love playing games. It turns out, there’s one game they all love to play, even though it can make emotions run high.
During a chat hosted by British radio station Radio Marsden, a number of children got to ask Prince William some Christmas-themed questions. The radio serves the Royal Marsden Hospital, of which William is the patron. The hospital’s focus is mainly on cancer care and treatment.
One young boy, Henry, asked William: “What is your favourite board game?”
William replied: “Henry, we are playing board games with the children quite a lot. We love Monopoly, that’s good and Risk, have you played Risk before? That’s a good board game, it goes on for hours and usually, everyone gets very cross because they lose. But that’s what I like playing.”
Each year, the Royal Family – just like millions of people around the kingdom – sits down to watch the annual Christmas speech on television.
Queen Elizabeth’s speech was a highlight for many, and this year marked the first time King Charles’ did the speech. In the address, he thanked the country for its tremendous support after the Queen’s passing.
King Charles’ delivered first Christmas speech
Charles said: “I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father. I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.”
“While Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief,” he added.
“So, whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light, and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future.”
King Charles ended his speech by saying: “Let us, therefore, celebrate it together and cherish it always. With all my heart, I wish each of you a Christmas of peace, happiness, and everlasting light.”
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As any parent can relate to, getting your children ready for school, a visit to their grandparents, or even just going outside to play in the garden can mean a whole lot of preparation.
Perhaps one child can’t find their gloves, or another’s crying because they don’t like their pants, and a third might just be in a terrible mood. Of course, this isn’t the case all the time, but it applies not only to “normal” families – but also to the royals.
In this particular case, it isn’t about a kid not wanting to wear gloves or simply refusing to go outside.
Kate Middleton reveals struggle with Princess Charlotte’s hair
No, for Prince William and Kate Middleton, there’s one thing – a skill, one might say – they seem not to have mastered yet.
It concerns the young Princess Charlotte’s hair.
When William and Kate appeared with George, Charlotte, and Louis before the Christmas Service, it seemed like they had everything under control. The kids appeared to be embracing the chance to be a part of the traditional walk through Sandringham to the service at St. Mary’s Church, but their parents have admitted to struggles with helping Charlotte with her hair.
On a visit to Cumbria in June 2019, Kate openly spoke about the issues she faces where it pertains to styling her daughter’s hair. After meeting a young girl who offered her a bouquet, Kate gave a compliment and revealed how hard it is to help Charlotte get the desired do.
“I love your plaits. They are so pretty. Who’s done those, who’s done your plaits?” Kate asked the girl, adding, “I tried to do a plait with Charlotte this morning, it didn’t really work very well.”
And it’s not only Kate who struggles with Charlotte’s hair. The same goes for the future king, Prince William, who admitted in 2019 that he had encountered difficulties when it came to learning how to do her hair at all.
“Never try to do a ponytail! Nightmare,” William said.
William and Kate have been very outspoken about their family life, and, as mentioned, their aim is to give their children as normal a childhood as possible.
Princess Charlotte “fight” George in the morning
Whenever they speak about their family, they tend to paint a picture of harmony and love. Of course, their three children, like any other siblings, have their fair share of arguments.
Speaking on Apple’s Time To Walk in 2021, William said his children love music. It turns out that Princess Charlotte and her siblings enjoy the same music as their father.
William said: “I’ve been amazed by how much my children already have inherited my family’s love of music.
“Most mornings, there’s a massive fight between Charlotte and George as to what song is played in the morning. And I have to, now, basically prioritize that one day someone does this one, and another day it’s someone else’s turn. So George gets his go, then Charlotte gets her go. Such is the clamor for the music.”
Indeed, movement in general is something Prince Charlotte seems to have taken to. In fact, she’s interested in gymnastics, which Kate Middleton revealed two years ago.
Princess Charlotte’s talent for gymnastics
“Charlotte is really into gymnastics; she’s doing cartwheels, handstands, everything,” the Princess of Wales said. “It’s so good for their basic skills of balance and coordination.”
“And their flexibility, it’s really good for their long-term health, isn’t it? We went to watch the Cirque du Soleil recently, it was amazing,” William added.
If Charlotte was to eventually pursue a career in gymnastics, it wouldn’t be the first time a royal had engaged in professional sports. William’s cousin, Zara Tindall, competed for the British Equestrian Team at the 2012 London Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the team event.
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