Inside George, Charlotte & Louis’ THREE Christmas days – from Carole’s Xmas Eve boxes to big King’s Speech watch
MANY children eagerly look forward to their Christmas Day celebrations.
But Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, actually celebrate the special day three times.
Traditionally the royals flock to Sandringham for the main Christmas celebrations, with King Charles now at the helm of the plans as monarch - and this year will be no different.
Royal expert Emily Andrews said: “All the royals will gather at Sandringham in December, and I'm told that all the cousins, such as Eugenie, Beatrice, Zara and Peter Phillips, all look forward to the fun.”
Here’s what the festive period will look like for the Wales family…
1) Presents on Christmas Eve
While many kids get excited to open presents on December 25, George, Charlotte and Louis don't have to wait as long.
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Extended family presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve - a German tradition the royals follow.
The Wales kids also have Christmas Eve boxes to look forward to, which are gifted by grandma Carole Middleton.
Sarah Hewson, royal editor at Talk TV, explained: “Kate’s mother Carole has talked about Christmas Eve boxes, a tradition of a little gift on Christmas Eve for the children, just whet their appetite for what's to come the next day, as well as hiding cheeky elves around her house to make her grandchildren laugh.
“Christmas Eve evening is a black tie dinner for the adults.”
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While the royals typically stay at Sandringham itself, William and Kate prefer to spend their time privately in their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall.
Sarah added: “They will be celebrating with the rest of the royal family, but the beauty for Kate and William and their children is that they stay at Anmer Hall, so they can be there together before they go and join the formalities at Sandringham.”
Inside the Royal Family’s extravagant Christmas Eve celebrations
SARAH Hewson, royal editor at Talk TV, said the Royal Family typically gather on Christmas Eve to kickstart the celebrations.
She added: “The little royals - George, Charlotte and Louis and Camilla's grandchildren - will help finish decorating the tree.
"Then, the royal family and all their guests will place their gifts on a trestle table in the red drawing room and they will open them at tea time, a German tradition introduced by Prince Albert.
"And contrary to what we might expect when you think about a royal Christmas, there are no diamonds under the tree.
"They actually give joke gifts - Kate once, when he was single, gave Harry a Grow Your Own girlfriend kit, and apparently Meghan's present to the Queen on her first Christmas at Sandringham with a singing hamster.
2) Big royal bash
One of the highlights of Christmas Day for royals fans is seeing the family step out in public on December 25.
George, Charlotte and Louis have an intimate Christmas morning with their parents where extra gifts are exchanged, but then they typically join their family out for church.
Sarah added: “They will come together again at the main house and walk to St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate for a church service.”
This is followed by a sumptuous Christmas lunch.
The royal expert continued: "Lunch is a traditional Christmas dinner with Turkey, perhaps a glass or two of wine for the adults, and apple juice for the children from apples grown on the estate.
"And believe it or not, they then all sit and watch the King’s speech together, just like any other family on Christmas day.”
We shared how King Charles has shaken up the royal Christmas following the Queen’s death, including banning foie gras and adding more organic produce.
Another thing that has changed is that Camilla’s children and grandchildren join the royals at Sandringham for the occasion.
Although Charles and Camilla have been married since 2005, in previous years her family members did not join in the festivities at Sandringham as they are not members of the royal household.
Camilla has two children, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker-Bowls and five grandchildren named Lola, Eliza, Freddy, Gus and Louis.
3) Middleton celebrations
After the main royal celebrations are done, usually the Wales family will enjoy a "fun and informal" Christmas with Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.
Sarah explained: “It's usually expected they would then get together with the Middletons at a later point, either in Berkshire or at Amner, where they have all the fun and the informality of a Middleton family Christmas.”
The Middleton family Christmas is likely to be a large gathering this year, also involving Pippa, her husband James Matthews, their three children Arthur, Grace, and Rose, as well as younger brother James, his wife Alizée Thevenet and their son Indigo.
According to Sarah, Prince William has always particularly enjoyed the Middleton family Christmas as it reminds him of the fun his own mother, the late Princess Diana, injected into the festive season.
The royal expert said of Carole: "She once said that as much as you love all the immaculate decorations, you can't be too serious at Christmas and I do think they have a lot of fun with their grandchildren.
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"They play a really important role in giving them that sense of normality, an ordinary family life, and Prince William just relishes those Christmases at Middleton family home.
"It’s the kind of Christmas his mother would have wanted to have given him.”