Kate Middleton and Prince William Will Spend Especially Poignant Christmas with King Charles at Sandringham
Simon Perry
November 29, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Christmas at Sandringham, a tradition for members of the royal family, will be a slice of normality for the couple at the end of a very atypical year
Kate Middleton and Prince William are planning for a poignant Christmas.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, and their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, are set to mark the holiday with King Charles and most of the royal family at Sandringham, the Norfolk estate where the royal family typically spends Christmas every year.
It will be an especially emotional holiday season, as both Kate and Charles, 76, have faced serious health issues this year. Kate announced in September that her course of chemotherapy cancer treatment, which began in February, had finished. Charles, whose own cancer was discovered around the same time as Kate's, is still undergoing his treatment. Their types of cancer have not been revealed.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will not be at the annual gathering and are spending Christmas in the U.S., PEOPLE confirms. Harry, 40, is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the decision to remove his automatic top level security and doesn't feel he can bring his family to the country.
A source told PEOPLE earlier this year that, when it comes to communicating with his father, Harry's calls "go unanswered."
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, where William and Kate have their office, declined to comment on the royal guest list.
Whoever is seen walking to St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate will likely see it as a time to reflect on a difficult year. In addition to both Charles and Kate going through serious health crises, it has also been draining and stressful for the larger family, too. William said in an interview in Cape Town, South Africa in November that it had been a "brutal" year.
"It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life," he said while there for the fourth iteration of his Earthshot Prize Awards.
The Princess of Wales and King Charles were admitted to the same hospital in January, Charles for treatment of an enlarged prostate, while Kate had "planned abdominal surgery," the palace announced. When their stays crossed over at The London Clinic for a few nights in January, PEOPLE understands Charles visited his daughter-in-law while in hospital. He also entertained her for a private lunch at Windsor Castle just before she announced to the world on Mar. 22 she had started cancer treatment.
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Soon after their respective hospital stays, cancer was found in both of them, and both scaled back their work and public appearances as they started their treatment.
On Sept. 9, Kate said in an emotional message, accompanied by film of her family, "The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown."
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"The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything," she continued.
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King Charles has been based in Sandringham along with Queen Camilla, who is recovering from a chest infection announced earlier this month, for the last several days, heading to London for his ongoing cancer treatment and for an engagement at the palace. It's thought he has used this time to start planning for the holidays.
On Dec. 6, Kate will be joined by William and other members of the family at her annual Together at Christmas carol service, a festive end to a challenging year.