The Prince and Princess of Wales did not attend the King‘s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace today as the wider Royal Family gathered for the annual event.
Prince William and Kate are instead said to be looking forward to spending time with members of the Royal Family as usual at the Sandringham estate over Christmas.
MailOnline understands the Waleses are already in Norfolk with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and had always planned to be.
It has also been made clear that William and Kate’s absence was in no way linked to Prince Andrew pulling out of the lunch amid the ongoing Chinese ‘spy’ scandal.
The confirmation from the royal source was given just before 11am, at around exactly the same time that Charles was spotted arriving at Buckingham Palace for the lunch.
Kate, who has been gradually returning to public events after revealing in September that she had finished a course of cancer treatment, was last seen with her family on December 6 at Westminster Abbey for her ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service.
Four days later, William said during a visit to Picton Barracks in Wiltshire that he was looking forward to but ‘not ready’ for Christmas and would celebrate with 45 family members at Sandringham ‘all in one room’, although they are ‘normally spread out’.
George, Charlotte and Louis have been on their Christmas holidays since last Friday when Lambrook School near Windsor, which they all attend, closed until January 8.
William and Kate have been pictured arriving for the lunch in previous years, including 2018 and 2019. The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic.
Today, King Charles arrived at the palace in a car just before 11am with his private secretary Sir Clive Alderton for the private gathering, held for senior royals and their wider family who will not be attending Christmas celebrations at Sandringham.
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The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were next to arrive at about 11.20am for the lunch at the monarch’s official London residence, which saw dozens of Royal Family members enjoy organic Norfolk turkey and all the trimmings.
Further arrivals were then seen from 12.30pm, including Andrew’s daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with their husbands Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank – who were there without their father or mother Sarah.
Eugenie and Jack’s three-year-old son August could be seen asleep in the back of the car wearing a Santa hat.
Christopher ‘Wolfie’ Woolf, eight, who is Edoardo’s son and Beatrice’s stepson, was also seen in the back of his parents’ car.
Also arriving were Queen Camilla; Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Others were the King’s second cousin Lady Gabriella Windsor; Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma; and Lord Frederick Windsor with his wife Sophie Winkleman and their daughter Isabella.
