Different itinerary

William and Kate miss royal family reunion

Prince William and his wife Kate(Bild: Yui Mok / PA)

The heir to the British throne Prince William and his wife Princess Kate have missed the pre-Christmas family reunion at Buckingham Palace. Instead, the couple traveled with their children to the family's country estate in Anmer Hall on Thursday.

The British royals traditionally meet up with their extended family for lunch at Buckingham Palace in London shortly before Christmas. In previous years, William and Kate have been spotted arriving several times. In 2020 and 2021, the meeting was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prince Andrew (64), the second eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and brother of King Charles III, also canceled his attendance at the lunch. The background to this is likely to be that he recently hit the headlines again due to his proximity to a suspected Chinese spy. Andrew also previously had links to the US multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was at the center of an abuse scandal.

Digital Christmas card published
He will also be absent from the actual Christmas celebrations, which the royals celebrate at the Sandringham country estate in Norfolk. William and Kate, however, want to be there again. The gift-giving is planned for December 24, with a church service on Christmas Day.

Here you can see the digital Christmas card.

The palace has already published a digital Christmas card on the X platform, in which William and Kate can be seen arm in arm with their children George (11), Charlotte (9) and Louis (6) in a summery snapshot.