One of the few times the extended Royal Family meets is at The Queen’s annual Christmas Lunch, held at Buckingham Palace, and this year was no different.
Cars sped through the gates of Her Majesty’s London residence for a festive lunch cooked by the palace chefs. The entire family, including those that aren’t invited to Sandringham for Christmas (due to space reasons) have lunch and a catch up at the palace with The Queen. It is one of the few chances the entire group has each year to see one another all together. The other is usually Trooping the Colour.
We saw Prince Charles and Camilla arriving, as well as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte and Prince George; on their way to the traditional Christmas Lunch at the palace. Picture by Andrew Parsons / i-Images
Prince George in the car on the way to Buckingham Palace. Picture by Pete Maclaine / i-Images
The family nanny, Maria, accompanied them to the event.
Prince Harry brought along fiancee Meghan Markle today, squinting at the bright flashbulbs.
In a break with tradition, Meghan will also join the Royal Family at Sandringham at the end of this week to spend Christmas there. We will see her attend church alongside Prince Harry, The Queen and other members of the Royal Family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their way to The Queen’s Christmas Lunch at Buckingham Palace. Picture by Pete Maclaine / i-Images
It was announced yesterday that the former army captain has taken over from The Duke of Edinburgh as Captain General of the Royal Marines, Philip having held the role for 64 years.
Sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie arrived separately, too. driven by close protection officers.
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The Countess of Wessex, wearing glasses, drove her daughter, Lady Louise.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise go to Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
As only he could, Sir Tim Lawrence walked through the palace gates; he was not accompanied by Princess Anne, who slipped in unnoticed, perhaps earlier in the day.
Autumn Phillips – Peter Phillips’ Canadian wife – was also seen arriving with her two daughters, Isla and Savannah. Peter drove them home again.
Autumn Phillips takes her two daughters to Christmas Lunch with The Queen. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
The Duchess of Gloucester drove herself to the Palace with her husband, Prince Richard; it appears they had a grandchild with them, but we couldn’t see which.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent were joined by their granddaughter, Lady Marina.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent drove in with their daughter, Lady Gabriella.
Lady Helen Taylor, daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Kent, was sat in the passenger seat as her husband, Tim, drove the family car, bringing their brood to see The Queen.
Princess Alexandra, whose birthday is also on Christmas Day, was accompanied by her granddaughter, Zennouska Mowatt. The pair usually attend the lunch together.
Other members of the family who were in attendance at the Christmas Lunch included Lord Frederick Windsor and his children, Isabella and Maud – there have been reports of his wife, Sophie, being involved in a serious car accident in recent weeks; he is the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. George and Sylvana, Earl and Countess of St Andrews (son of The Duke and Duchess of Kent), with their daughter Lady Amelia; Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor (son of The Duke and Duchess of Kent) with their son, Albert, Leopold and Louis. The Countess of Snowdon, Serena, drove her two children, Charles and Margarita to the event, but her husband, David, was not seen in the car; Lady Sarah Chatto and her husband David were also spotted arriving.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Countess of SnowdonEmbed from Getty ImagesLady Sarah and Daniel Chatto
The event lasted a couple of hours, before cars began to leave the palace again. We expect The Queen to head to Norfolk tomorrow.
3 comments
very happy christmas day to the her MAJESTY, the queen of uk. ELIZABETH. mAY YOU LIVE LONG AND SERVE THE POOR AND THE CHRISTIANITY. i AM A RETIRED GOVT. SERVANT FROM INDIA.
where was prince andrew and his girls?????
We’ve included photos of Beatrice and Eugenie; Andrew was almost certainly there, just not photographed arriving, like Princess Anne.
Victoria