From Kate Middleton's Joke Gifts To Prince Harry's Favourite Cider: How The Royals Celebrate Christmas

EntertainmentWise

24 December 2013 at 7:06 am

Christmas is a very traditional affair for the royals but with the biggest guest list for years and some new faces around the dinner table, the 2013 festive season looks set to be an extra special one for the Queen and her nearest and dearest.

While 2012 saw Prince Harry eating turkey with the troops in Afghanistan and brother William celebrating with Kate Middleton and her family, this year everyone will descend on the Queen's royal estate of Sandringham in Norfolk.

Even Kate's parents are invited, the first time in-laws have spent time at a royal Christmas, with HM the Queen reportedly keen that everyone would should have the chance to see Kate and William's son Prince George celebrate his first Christmas.

While Her Majesty has been at Sandringham for a few days (and will stay put until February) festivities officially begin when everyone else starts arriving on December 23.

Everything runs like clockwork as each family member is issued with an arrival time and according to the Daily Mail, upon their arrive they are given a time table and room plan by the master of the household.

Kate Middleton and Prince William are celebrating their first Christmas as parents to Prince George (WENN)

After taking tea and finishing off the 18ft Christmas tree with the final decorations, the family gather to open pressies on Chritsmas Eve, a tradition among the royals with the Queen reserving Christmas Day for religious celebrations.

Gifts are laid out on a trestle table where each royal is given a section for their gifts. Don't expect luxe presents though, with the royals traditionally exchanging joke gifts such as the "Grow Your Own Girlfriend" kit that Kate gave Harry last year. As they open their gifts the family sip Sandringham cider brewed from the estate's own apples, said to be a particular favourite of William and Harry.

Christmas day morning is spent at Sandringham parish church where around a 1000 wellwishers gather to catch a glimpse of the royals every year. A turkey lunch and the Queen's speech rounds up the big day, although HM is said to disappear to another room when she appears on the telly!

Check out more on what happens at a royal Christmas in our video above.

PHOTO: Merry Hotmas! Cheryl Cole Spends Christmas Day Soaking Up The Sun
PHOTO: Sofia Vergara Shows Off Her Pert Bum In Thong During Holiday
Niall Horan Forgets About Christmas Travel Drama To Enjoy Football Match

SWNS
Mum wakes up to find stranger has erected tent in her front garden overnight
A mum was baffled when she looked outside and found a stranger had pitched a tent in her front garden overnight. Erika White, 38, said her son initially spotted the makeshift home on the lawn of her end-of-terrace urban home at 6.35am. The baffled finance analyst confronted the brazen trespasser - and said initially he ignored her polite request to move on from her front garden in Dartford, Kent. She "couldn't believe the audacity" of the sleepy camper and it was only when she told him she'd call the police he upped and went.
The Guardian
Woman accused of murdering teenager Amber Haigh watched her have sex with husband, court hears
Prosecution claims Anne Geeves and husband Robert, who have both pleaded not guilty, used Haigh as a ‘surrogate mother’ and then killed her
The Telegraph
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer renew attack on ‘baffling’ Gareth Southgate decision
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have launched another attack on Gareth Southgate’s team selection and tactics after England were booed off in their final European Championship group game against Slovenia.
Hello!
Carol Kirkwood sparks concern from BBC Breakfast fans with latest TV appearance
Carol Kirkwood has sparked concern from BBC Breakfast viewers with her latest appearance on the current affairs programme. Get the details here…
Hello!
Jamie Oliver's wife Jools looks unreal in skinny jeans for unexpected wedding photos
Jamie Oliver shared an image of himself and his wife Jools Oliver getting married in Vegas and the chef's wife donned skinny jeans and heels, as well as a laced top for the nuptials.
Hello!
Elizabeth Hurley sets pulses racing in scandalous strapless bikini
Elizabeth Hurley never fails to impress with an unbelievable bikini photo and she didn't disappoint on Sunday when she donned a strapless number. See photo.
OK! Magazine
This Morning fans left fuming as controversial guest announced for ITV show
Fans of ITV's hit show This Morning were left fuming at their television sets after it was revealed that a famous reality star would be appearing on the show this week
OK! Magazine
Prince Harry's sharp take on the Middleton family's 'country bumpkin' life and William's 'obsession'
Top royal author Tina Brown claimed Prince Harry "couldn’t understand Prince William's obsession with his Middleton in-laws" and their lives in the countryside "bored Harry to tears"
The Northern Echo
The England player who should start in the last 16 - and two who badly underperformed
How did the players fare in England’s goalless draw with Slovenia in their final group game at the Euros?
Evening Standard
Police searching for Jay Slater investigate if teenager’s background is ‘relevant’ to disappearance
The 19-year-old was last heard from over a week ago after attending a music festival in Tenerife
Manchester Evening News
UK tourists bringing back disease which can kill one in 10 as Foreign Office issues alert
Officials at the Foreign Office have highlighted symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia after 14 cases of the lethal meningococcal disease have been detected in people returning from Saudi Arabia - including some in the UK
The Telegraph
Police searching for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife rescue lost Scottish hiker
A British hiker was rescued by police searching for Jay Slater in the same Tenerife national park where the 19-year-old disappeared.
Manchester Evening News
Spanish island hit by mass anti-tourist protests says restaurant takings have plunged
Residents have taken to the streets and held demonstrations on beaches calling for a cap on holidaymakers to Majorca
Bucks Free Press
'Completely and utterly racist' question is removed from Chalfont St Peter hustings
A question that was submitted to the recent Chalfont St Peter hustings was removed from the list due to ‘being completely and utterly racist.’
The Independent
Jay Slater machete gang attack victim hits out at internet trolls and urges them to help find teenager
The alleged victim told TikTok trolls ‘Have some respect and help find this boy and get him back to his family’
OK! Magazine
ITV's Emmerdale forced into 'sex crisis' after major star quits show
Emmerdale is facing a sex crisis after a major star quit the soap after five years, it has been reported. The hunky actor will bow out of the soap in a major storyline later this year
OK! Magazine
Meghan Markle's gift to Queen met with 5-word statement and lasted just hours
Meghan Markle's first gift for Queen Elizabeth II reportedly went down a storm - but sadly it didn't last very long thanks to the late monarch's beloved pet corgis
Hello!
Death in Paradise star joins hit crime drama for season 2 - and the trailer looks brilliant
Channel 4's hit show is back for season two - and it looks seriously good
Reuters
US, Russia defense chiefs speak as tensions rise over Crimea attack
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. and Russian defense chiefs spoke by telephone on Tuesday in rare communication between the two powers and with tensions rising after Moscow blamed Washington for a deadly Ukraine attack over the weekend on the Russian-annexed Crimea. The two sides gave widely divergent accounts of the conversation - the first one between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russia's new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, who replaced Sergei Shoigu in May.
Business Insider
A Russian soldier's killing of a wounded comrade highlights the 'brutal culture' rampant inside Russia's military, war analysts say
Experts called out the callous behavior within the Russian armed forces after drone footage showed a soldier shooting a wounded comrade.

Latest stories