Why Queen Elizabeth Advised Prince William To Cancel Kate Middleton’s ‘Romantic’ Christmas Plans

Although Prince William and Kate Middleton typically spend each Christmas at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham Estate, their holiday plans weren’t always organized. During the early days of their relationship, William made a sudden decision that left Kate in tears.

Despite their strong connection, Prince William and Kate valued spending quality time with their family, especially during the holidays. However, the couple’s relationship suffered a major blow when William made a last-minute decision to stay with his family over the holidays.

In the book, “The Making of a Royal Romance,” Katie Nicholl claimed Kate was looking forward to spending quality with her then-boyfriend over the holidays after he made plans to visit her.

“In November 2006, just before William graduated from Sandhurst, Kate was invited to Sandringham for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas lunch, the first time a girlfriend had received such an invitation,” Nicholl wrote.

Although Kate declined the invitation so she could spend Christmas with her family, Prince William agreed to visit Kate and her family during the holiday break. However, after a talk with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, he changed his mind.

“William had promised he would join the Middletons to celebrate Hogmanay at Jordanstone House. The setting could hardly have been more romantic [and] Kate was eagerly awaiting his arrival,” the author explained.

“At the last minute, William had a change of heart and decided to stay with his own family instead. He informed a tearful Kate during a late-night conversation on Boxing Day of the change of plan.”

Even though the Duke of Cambridge didn’t see an issue with his decision, Kate was left feeling rejected. “For William, it was no big deal, but for Kate, the cancellation was a sign of something more sinister to come,” Nicholl wrote.

“William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have a frank discussion about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to hurry into anything.”

Prince William and Kate broke up a few months after their Christmas debacle. Despite the holiday mishap, the couple eventually got back together and married in 2011. Nowadays, they spend their holidays with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.