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| One of the many Christmas trees outside Buckingham Palace. Image: Wikimedia Commons |
The British Royal Family’s observance of Christmas does not
escape the eyes of the media and their royal followers from around the world. In
fact, they have become the poster family on how Christmas should be celebrated.
The Queen usually heads to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk a few days before
Christmas, but before that, she hosts a pre-Christmas lunch where she gathers her immediate family and relatives for dinner. Queen Elizabeth II takes this as
an opportunity to see members of the extended royal family who cannot join her
on Christmas.
Who are Invited to the Queen’s Pre-Christmas Lunch?
The members of The Queen’s immediate family who join her for
the Pre-Christmas Lunch are Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his family (the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children and the Duke and Duchess
of Sussex), Princess Anne and family (her husband, Timothy Laurence; her son,
Peter Phillips, with his wife and kids; and her daughter, Zarah and her family),
the Duke of York and his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Duke and
Duchess of Wessex and their children. Invitations
are also sent out to the extended members of the British Royal Family, such as Queen
Elizabeth II’s cousins, nephews, and nieces and their respective families. The
list usually include:
Princess Margaret’s
children and their respective families - Princess Margaret is The Queen’s
only sibling. She died in 2002. She had a son and a daughter: The Earl of
Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, both married and respectively with their own
families.
The Duke and Duchess
of Gloucester. The current Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, is the Queen’s
first-cousin. He is the only surviving child of the late Prince Henry, Duke of
Gloucester, third son and fourth child of King George V, and Lady Alice
Montagu-Douglas-Scott. Prince Richard is married to Danish-born Birgitte van
Deurs.
The Duke and Duchess
of Kent. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, is also the Queen’s first-cousin, the
oldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, who perished after his plane crashed
in Scotland at the height of World War II. She is married to Katharine Worsley,
although the Duchess of Kent rarely shows up on royal gatherings—her last public
appearance so far was during the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in
April 2018.
Princess Alexandra of
Kent. Also first-cousin to the Queen, she is the sister of the Duke of Kent.
She was married in 1963 to Sir Angus Ogilvy, who died in 2004.
Prince and Princess
Michael of Kent. Prince Michael is the youngest among the Kent siblings. He
and his wife, Princess Michael, are regularly invited to palace occasions.
Find out more about how the British Royal Family celebrate
Christmas here.
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