King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been photographed arriving at Buckingham Palace on Thursday for the royal household’s annual pre-Christmas lunch, whereas Prince William and Kate Middleton have been MIA.
The king and queen seem to have arrived in separate vehicles as they every made their approach by way of the palace gates, which, whereas being the official residence of the British monarch, just isn’t the place Charles and Camilla dwell. The king and queen as an alternative reside at Clarence Home — a stone’s throw away from Buckingham Palace — the place they lived earlier than Charles ascended the throne.
Camilla was all smiles as she waved to the cameras, and onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of the royals.
For the final two years, King Charles hosted the pre-Christmas luncheon at Windsor Fortress. His mom, the late Queen Elizabeth II, historically selected Buckingham Palace because the venue for the luncheon, attended by 70 or so visitors.
This 12 months marks the primary in Charles’ reign that the luncheon returned to the palace.
Notably absent from the festive gathering have been Prince William, 42, Kate Middleton, 42, and their youngsters, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.
On Thursday, it was revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales could be skipping the luncheon, opting to spend the start of the Christmas vacation with their youngsters at Anmer Corridor — the couple’s Anglesey residence in Norfolk, England.
Although MIA on the palace, William and Catherine (as she is formally identified) fed royal followers a little bit of vacation cheer, releasing their annual Christmas card. The seasonal greeting featured a photograph of the royals and their three youngsters taken from Kate’s September video saying she is cancer-free.
The princess revealed in March that she had most cancers and was present process a spherical of preventative chemotherapy.
The Waleses will, nonetheless, be a part of the royal household for his or her Christmas Day celebrations on the king’s Norfolk property in Sandringham, which ought to embody about 45 visitors. William, Kate and their youngsters are additionally anticipated to stroll with Charles, Camilla and different royals to a Christmas morning church service.
Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have been additionally photographed arriving on the luncheon, every pushed in by their husbands — Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, respectively.
Andrew was absent from the lunch, opting to skip the occasion as he faces one more scandal — this one centered on his friendship and potential enterprise dealings with a person accused of being a Chinese language spy.
Andrew’s ex-wife and mom to Beatrice and Eugenie, Sarah Ferguson (aka the Duchess of York), additionally RSVP’d “no,” spending the day with Andrew as an alternative as she continues to face by his aspect as he battles his newest controversy.
Although divorced, Andrew and Sarah preserve an in depth relationship and dwell collectively on the Duke’s Windsor property, Royal Lodge, the property Charles has unsuccessfully tried to evict him from.
Royal Lodge will host Andrew and Sarah’s Christmas Day celebration, because the pair determined to skip the king’s personal household gathering at Sandringham — a transfer additionally motivated by the brand new allegations surrounding the duke.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will spend Christmas Day with their households, as will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who will mark the vacation at residence in Montecito, Calif.
