The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be considering skipping the traditional Royal Christmas at Sandringham, amid reports that the ex-Prince Andrew could join the family, with the possibility that Harry and Meghan might also attend.
The future King and Queen are also thought to want to give the disgraced ex-Duke of York a wide berth. Andrew reportedly hopes to join the Royal Family at Sandringham this year, having already resided on the estate after being removed from Royal Lodge in Windsor over his links to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Family divisions over Andrew's attendance
A source told Closer Magazine: "Camilla, Anne and Edward have all been telling the King that it would be both kind and prudent to show his brother a little more mercy."
"But Charles wants him at arm's length, and William is totally opposed to the idea of his disgraced uncle coming anywhere near the family, on Christmas Day of all days."
It is claimed the fear of Andrew rocking up to Christmas lunch means The Prince and Princess of Wales may instead spend Christmas with Kate's family. The couple previously made a point of spending every second Christmas with the Middletons, and it may be a good time for them to resurrect that tradition, a well-connected columnist claims.
Past Christmas traditions and the 2018 photoshoot
The Daily Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle gossip column said: "Reports that Andrew might be invited to Christmas lunch at Sandringham might be too much for William and Kate. And the possibility Harry and Meghan might also turn up won't exactly help their mood."
"The Fractured Four were persuaded by officials, desperate for a display of unity, to walk to church together on Christmas morning in 2018. It was an uncomfortable stunt which fooled no one. Will and Kate had to cancel plans with her family, ending the custom that they alternated spending the big day between the royals and the Middletons. Re-booting that tradition seems a good idea right now."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to return to the USA at Christmas so that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet can see their maternal grandmother, Meghan's mum Doria Ragland. But they could still accept an invitation to spend the festive season with Archie and Lilibet's paternal grandfather, King Charles.
Kate's parents Michael and Carole Middleton live at Bucklebury Manor in Berkshire, a country mansion with an 18-acre estate where their grandson Prince George actually lived for the first few weeks of his life.
In 2016, William and Kate attended a Christmas Day church service at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire along with George and Princess Charlotte. Carole and Michael Middleton also attended, along with Kate's sister Pippa, and brother James. Kate shared that she was planning to put teddy bears dressed as a Cub Scout, for George, then aged three, and a Beaver Scout, for Charlotte, 19 months, under the family's Christmas tree.
In 2014, Kate spent Christmas pregnant with Princess Charlotte and the couple hosted her parents and siblings for lunch at their home at Anmer Hall in Norfolk. It was their first time hosting and they had Queen Elizabeth's permission to skip the gathering at nearby Sandringham. And in 2012, William and Kate also spent Christmas in Berkshire, shortly after Buckingham Palace announced Kate's pregnancy with Prince George. However, the 2018 photoshoot interrupted that biennial tradition.
