This Is How The Royal Family Celebrate Christmas Each Year

Apparently, fiancées and friends aren’t traditionally invited to the three-day annual celebration. Even Kate Middleton didn’t get to go before her wedding in 2011. “Only spouses and close family are usually invited,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams explained to the Daily Express in December 2017. The family made an exception for Meghan Markle back in the day — but Harry and Meghan probably won't be around for the 2022 celebration.

But what do you get someone who literally has everything for Christmas? Well, the royals actually only buy one another ridiculous gag gifts as a tradition. Diana once allegedly bought Sarah Ferguson a leopard-print bath mat, for instance. And reportedly back when Harry was single, Kate gifted him a “Grow Your Own Girlfriend Kit.” Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

Other royal Christmas traditions are considerably more formal, and they involve that old royal custom: rank. When guests arrive at Sandringham, for instance, they are apparently supposed to do so according to their “place” within the family. Although it's been said that the 2022 celebration will be "less formal" than usual.

In 2017 How to Dress Like a Princess author Claudia Joseph explained it all to Vogue. “For lunch on Christmas Eve, the men wear suits and the women wear smart silk dresses, but they change into black [ties] and glamorous gowns for dinner,” she said. “It’s the one time the women wear their most expensive jewelry and almost all wear tiaras.”

There are allegedly rules about tiaras too. You’re reportedly only supposed to wear one if you’re a married woman. And although tiaras are so beautiful most people would want to wear them as much as possible, royals are apparently only supposed to wear them from 6:00 p.m. onwards.

Christmas Day is an extremely busy affair as well. First, the royals get dressed up in nice outfits to walk to St Mary Magdalene Church for the morning Christmas service. The Queen was driven there in the past few years, but King Charles walked, leading his family alongside Camilla. If you want to spot a royal at Christmas, then, that church is the place to be.

Christmas dinner is supposedly a huge feast. And in the past, the Queen was served before anyone else. King Charles probably fills this position now. “The head chef, accompanied by some of his team, carve the first of two 25-pound turkeys at the buffet in the dining room,” royal commentator Robert Jobson told Vogue in December 2017.

“There is also a buffet of foie gras, boar’s head, venison, and salmon trout. Once everyone has sat down with their meat, the butlers will come around with their Brussels sprouts with fresh roasted chestnut and roast potatoes,” Jobson added to Vogue. “Dessert is two Christmas puddings and brandy sauce, mince pies, and hard butter.”

Luckily, the staff reportedly aren’t forgotten during the festive dinner. “At the end of the carving, it’s the one time of the year that [the Queen] would give the head chef a drink, and he will toast the family with ‘Happy Christmas,’” Jobson continued. And if you happen to work at the palace, you will apparently get Christmas presents too.

The royal family website states, “All members of the royal household will receive Christmas presents.” Before she passed away, the Queen would have personally handed out gifts to a few employees of The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle. Charles hopefully is continuing this tradition nowadays.

The royal website also explains that the Queen — following in the footsteps of Kings George VI and George V — would hand her staff Christmas puddings. “About 1,500 Christmas puddings paid for by the Queen... [were] distributed to staff throughout the palaces, staff in the Court Post Office, and Palace police,” it stated.

Sending out cards appears to be a pretty big part of a royal Christmas. Each year, the Queen and Prince Philip supposedly would have sent out about 750 of them, with their official ciphers attached. Prime Ministers, politicians, and members of the royal household all got one. King Charles and Camilla — who always had their own mailing list, too — took on the task in 2022.

In 2022 King Charles III delivered his first Christmas Day speech to the watching world. This is a tradition with a long history behind it. In 1932 the King’s great-grandfather, King George V, delivered the very first Royal Christmas Message via radio. His grandfather, King George VI, took over after that, and then it became the Queen's responsibility.

During the Queen's reign, the royals themselves all settled down to watch the Queen’s speech together. And it was reportedly a solemn occasion: no jokes are allowed. For his first Christmas as the monarch, King Charles paid tribute to his late mother’s legacy. He said, “My mother’s belief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also her faith in people — and it is one which I share with my whole heart.”

The royals are free to admire the Christmas decorations that adorn the palace, of course. For the 2022 festive period, for instance, a 20-foot Nordmann Fir Christmas tree will be erected in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. The decorations at the Palace of Holyroodhouse will also feature a brilliantly adorned Christmas tree in both the Throne Room and the Great Gallery.

“The custom of displaying Christmas trees was introduced to Britain in the late 18th [century] by Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III, although it was a yew tree rather than a fir that was used,” the royal family announced on Instagram in December 2018. “The Christmas tree was popularized by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the 19th century.”

“It’s always a sad time when you have your first Christmas without the main person,” royal expert Jennie Bond told OK! in 2022. “Like every other family, they will get used to it but it’ll be slightly different.” For one thing, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not present last year.

Traditionally, the royals would enjoy their Christmas lunch and then pull Christmas crackers together. Not Christmas crackers filled with luxury gifts, though — just your traditional crackers with jokes and paper hats inside. It had been reported that the Queen was the only person in the family not to wear her paper hat — but perhaps King Charles will don the colorful crown now.

The run of the day during the Queen's reign involved the family going for a festive walk after lunch — and before afternoon tea. Former royal chef Darren McGrady told Hello! in 2021, "It was always the chocolate Yule log, which was a twist on the chocolate birthday cake, scones, mince pies, different types of sandwiches, and the Christmas cake." Sounds delicious!

“Christmas is such a special time of year — everyone puts on their best clothes and, of course, the Queen [was] no different,” dresser Angela Kelly wrote in her memoir, The Other Side of the Coin. But while the Queen opted for bright, festive colors for her trip to St Mary Magdalene Church, Charles opted for a smart suit and a tan overcoat.

It's been reported in many articles that the royals enjoy family games at Christmas — you know, when they're not eating massive amounts of food. The game of choice, at least during Queen Elizabeth II's time on the throne, was charades. So it seems that the royal family is just like many other families at this time of year!

The Queen used to donate to many local charities at Christmas time each year. But she also would pay for Christmas trees for London's Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Giles' Cathedral, and the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. And that's not all! The Queen used to give trees to churches and schools in Sandringham. It's a good bet that King Charles is continuing this tradition, too.

On Boxing Day — the day after Christmas — the royals would traditionally go out on a shoot. This would involve members of the royal family hunting animals, such as grouses, pheasants, or stags, in Sandringham. King Charles has been pictured many times in the past leading the shoot. These days, though, there is pressure for the tradition to be gotten rid of — so only time will tell whether the royals will keep it up.

The royals have bent the rules before, of course. Meghan first joined Harry and the Queen for Christmas at the Queen’s estate in Norfolk in 2017. This was highly unusual, as she hadn’t actually married into the royal family yet. Kate was not invited in 2010, for example, even though she was engaged to Prince William. Likewise, Mike Tindall never got to accompany Zara Phillips there until they had tied the knot.

Considering the complexities of royal protocol, this was a fairly big deal. Notably, Meghan didn’t get an invite to Pippa Middleton’s wedding in April 2017, even though Harry did. The unofficial rule among the family, one etiquette expert told People, is “No ring, no bring.” As with most things for the royals, it’s all very different from what regular people do.

But, of course, Meghan did have a ring; it was just an engagement one. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams talked to the Daily Express about the Christmas arrangements in December 2017. “It is expected Meghan will join Harry and the rest of the Royal Family for Christmas on the Queen’s estate in Norfolk this year,” he said.

The royal expert went on to explain the change in plans. “However, Harry and Meghan will be living together at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, and her family are in the United States. The monarchy relies heavily on precedent and tradition, but it also makes its own.” It was quite sweet, really, that they didn’t want her to be alone.

Meghan also had to be fashion-conscious for the Christmas Day church service. Photographers were out in force, as all the royal family members walked to church. It’s customary for women to wear a hat on this little jaunt, and in this instance, Meghan did conform. Well, sort of. The fashion world appeared to be divided over what the accessory actually was. In the end, ELLE.com decided that Meghan had worn a “fascinator-ish hat.”

The Queen had to walk a very fine line between maintaining royal protocols and keeping everybody, including her own family, happy. And this is something that King Charles is no doubt be fully aware of, too. 2022 was the first Christmas without his mother and another one without his son and daughter-in-law by his side. But the reigning monarch can bend the rules — and start his own Christmas traditions — if he wishes.