In October, Buckingham Palace announced to Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, expected another child last spring. Although originally the couple and their two children, Sienna Elizabeth and Christopher Woolf, planned to spend the Christmas holidays with Edoardo’s family in Italy, they have decided to visit Sandringham, the royal family’s Norfolk estate, for the holidays instead, The Independent reports, following medical advice not to travel long distances.
During an engagement earlier this month, Prince William said that around 45 family members will be around the table on Christmas Day at Sandringham, but the guest list does not include the rest of Beatrice’s immediate family. Beatrice’s sister, Princess Eugenie, is according to information plans to spend the holidays with her husband’s family, Jack Brooksbank. The princesses’ parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, backed out of the family gathering last weekafter the prince’s connection to an alleged Chinese spy became media fodder.
On Thursday, Eugenie and Jack joined King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and a handful of other Windsors at the annual Christmas lunch, but William and his wife Kate Middleton did not participatereportedly headed to the countryside at the start of her children’s holiday. After lunch the King and Queen also left the city and on Sunday Charles was discovered go to church on your own.
On Christmas morning, the King will lead the family on their usual procession to church on Christmas Day, and his annual televised Christmas speech will be televised that evening. According to The telegraph, This year’s speech was filmed in a hospital chapel a few weeks ago, and the text of the speech will discuss the royal family’s years of health challenges, including his and his daughter-in-law’s cancer diagnoses. A royal source told the newspaper that the switch from the usual filming locations of Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle was the king’s idea and reflected his desire to “reach out into communities rather than take them in on him.”
The source also provided details about the religious significance of choosing to film in a chapel. “It is also a non-denominational chapel, which is of course a key focus,” they added. “Although this is a Christmas address, His Majesty likes to reach out to all of all faiths and none.”
