Prince William, Kate Middleton Bucked Royal Christmas Tradition But Not Like Harry, Meghan

Prince William and Kate Middleton previously ducked the Christmas tradition of the royal family when they decided to skip the celebrations in Sandringham in 2012.

At that time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opted to spend the holidays with Middleton’s side of the family.

In the book “Kate,” royal author Marcia Moody said that the change was quite significant because no one has skipped the festivities with Queen Elizabeth in Sandringham before then.

“Senior members of the Royal Family had never been permitted to be anywhere other than Sandringham on Christmas Day in the past, so it certainly displayed how much times had changed. It was the first time William got to see how his wife had always spent Christmas,” she said.

But even though Prince William and Middleton spent Christmas Eve with the latter’s family, they still followed royal protocol by attending a church service at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield. They also joined the royal family for the yearly pheasant shoot on Boxing Day in Sandringham.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced last month their plan to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States with the Duchess of Sussex’s mom, Doria Ragland.

Even though the Queen allowed the Sussexes to not celebrate the holidays with her in Sandringham, the royal couple’s snub is still different from Prince William and Middleton. Prince Harry and Markle won’t also join the British clan for the traditional church service.

There is also no word about the Sussexes returning to London to attend the Boxing Day celebration with the royal family. But for the past two years, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated the holidays in Sandringham with the Queen.

According to royal author Katie Nicholl, there could be another reason why the Sussexes will not be celebrating Christmas with the royal family.

“Now on a sabbatical from royal duties until January, Meghan, Harry, and Archie spent their first Thanksgiving as a family in the States with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and are now enjoying some downtime. Given their whirlwind year it’s no wonder they are trading a busy royal Christmas for a more low-key family affair,” she wrote for Vanity Fair.