Prince William details family’s Christmas plans with massive 45-person guest list: ‘It will be noisy’
Prince William shared some rare insight into the royal family’s Christmas plans while visiting with soldiers and their families in England on Tuesday.
“We’ll be in Norfolk, at Sandringham,” he said during the outing, per People. “We’ll be 45 for Christmas. It won’t be quiet, it will be noisy.”
It’s tradition for the royal family to spend the holiday at Sandringham, the private country retreat of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The family has been celebrating Christmas there since 1988, according to their official website.
William did not reveal the list of names of the 45 people invited to his family’s Christmas celebration. However, his wife, Kate Middleton, 42, and their three children — Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6 — will certainly be among them.
Meanwhile, William’s brother, Prince Harry, his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children reportedly did not get invited to spend Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham.
They last celebrated Christmas with the royals in 2018, the year they tied the knot.
William also did not specify whether he would be seeing the 45 people mentioned within one gathering or over the course of several festivities planned in celebration of the holiday season.
During his visit with soldiers from the 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment, William reportedly admitted that he is in “no way” ready for Christmas.
According to Leah St Clair-Lewis — who is involved with WRVS Services Welfare, an organization that provides welfare support to British troops — the father of three enjoys “walks with his dogs at Sandringham.”
In addition to walks with his dogs, William will likely follow the tradition of giving presents to his family on Christmas Eve. It has been reported for years that the family gives each other gag gifts.
“The presents they give to each other are normally quite silly,” True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen told Fox News Digital in December 2023. “If you’ve got all the greatest jewelry in the world, all the greatest works of art in the world, all the greatest clothes in the world, what do you give each other on Christmas? It tends to be small joke presents.”
According to People, the kids will open presents on Christmas morning before heading to a service at St. Mary Magdalene, the estate’s church that dates back to the 16th century.
In years prior, the royal family has typically had a routine dining schedule on Christmas Day, former royal chef Darren McGrady, told Hello!
He said their lunch may consist of “turkey, different stuffings — sage and onion, chestnut — and the traditional sides like roast potatoes, mash potatoes, parsnips and Brussels sprouts.” During his time serving the royals, he said Christmas pudding would follow as dessert.
An afternoon tea, he remembered, consisted of a chocolate Yule log, scones, mince pies, different types of sandwiches and Christmas cake.
Finally, their dinner buffet was “even more elaborate” than lunch, McGrady claimed. He said it included a decorated York ham.
