‘Line-toeing is clearly over’: Kate and William break huge royal Christmas tradition
The Prince and Princess of Wales were no-shows at a major Buckingham Palace event, raising a huge question about King Charles.
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We oh-so-nearly made it.
We came so close, by the not-quite skin of our teeth, by almost the seats of our breathable summer pants, to arrive here – on the cusp of Christmas, finally being able to take our eyes off those Windsors for a precious few days …
Only for Kate, the Princess of Wales and all around good egg to chuck a ladylike spanner in the works.
Cogs screech. Gears grind to a halt. Pistons shriek to a standstill.
For the first time ever, the princess and her primary gift giver Prince William and their three children have skipped the bang-up Christmas lunch put on for the extended royal family at Buckingham Palace.
In 13 years of marriage, every December, the duo has diligently done their bit for the greater Windsor good and turned up to avoid having to make small talk with Princess Michael of Kent or being stuck next to the Earl of Snowdon as he banged on about his enduring love of cabinetry.
Well, that agreeable line-toeing is clearly over, sensible stuff given that the last 12 months veered spectacularly and horribly off the rails for William and Kate.
Still, their choice to not attend and to support the King was not so much conspicuous as impossible to miss, like turning up to see Taylor Swift and finding out that the third runner up in an RSL TayTay lookalike competition was being allowed to headline for the evening.
The end result: Rather than anyone talking about how nice it was that the King had defrosted enough organic salmon goujons for 70 of his relatives, it was William and Kate’s non-attendance that has been making news.
The reason for this that is being trotted out by insiders is simple – the Waleses wanted to start their holidays early.
On Thursday, as a procession of dukes and distant Windsors were arriving for their annual bit of good grub and touching of the royal hem, William and Kate were a two and a half hours’ drive north of the W1 postcode, at their Norfolk holiday home, Anmer Hall.
While we were taken by surprise by the Waleses’ skipping of the lunch, according to the Telegraph, the decision “was made quite some time ago” and the “the King [was] told in advance”.
The interesting word there is “told”, suggesting not so much a collaborative bit of constructive conversation-having with Charles, but of unilateral decision-making.
If custom and habit have gone out the window for William and Kate, so has their ruthless hewing to custom, and by extension, obedience to the King, according to some.
One former courtier has told The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes of their lunch no-show: “It is another example of the couple’s growing confidence when it comes to challenging some long-established traditions which they are widely believed to consider tiresome. Charles would have liked them to be there, and the fact that he was either unwilling or unable to insist on it shows his inability to maintain family discipline. You can’t imagine anyone missing it when Prince Philip was around”.
Or you know, the late Queen.
Still, a friend of the prince and princess has offered up a more sympathetic read, telling Sykes: “It’s categorically not a snub. They have had a full-on year and I don’t think anyone can expect Catherine to be effectively hosting lunch for hundreds of people”.
And, fair enough. Heaven knows the Waleses’ deserve all the peace, quiet and chocolate-boxy family board game nights they can get after their “brutal” and “dreadful” 2024, as William has put it.
What this Christmas lunch situation demonstrates is the degree to which the Prince and Princess of Wales have reassessed their priorities and their clear determination to put family resolutely first.
Never fear, though, because the first family of co-ordinating contempo casuals are, per the Telegraph, “looking forward” to joining the King et al at Sandringham next week and will be present and correct for the annual walk to church.
Interestingly, William and Kate skipping out of the Palace get together was not the only departure from convention they have managed to spring on us.
Only hours after the lunch, the Waleses’ released their Christmas card, and unlike in previous years when they debuted some new sweet family shot, this time around, they simply picked out a still image from the lengthy, pastelly, vibe-centric video announcing that Kate was cancer-free and slapped it on some nice paper.
Again, if this is Kate taking the simple and least stressful route then praise be; self-care is not just for us mere mortals. Her possibly wanting to waste less time rearranging squirming children for the purposes of a picture to keep tabloid readers happy and more time doing some top notch bonding and memory-making should hardly come as a shock.
Still, 2024 and William and Kate are not done with us yet, and they could have one more surprise up their social media sleeves. Every year, they stage “a slightly covert, rival Christmas party at their house”, a friend has revealed to the Beast. However, “it’s going to be much more obvious this year. If they post pictures, it’ll be an official coup attempt”.
Potential tanks on the lawn at Sandringham? So much for a proper holiday for you and I and King Charles.
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles
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