The royal family will reportedly fail to put on a united front on Christmas this year as fresh feud looms.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to host a “rival Christmas party,” according to a news report.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly planning to celebrate the festival at their home on the Sandringham estate, with Kate’s parents Mike and Carole.
“It will be a quieter Christmas than last year, but the question is, how quiet? Usually everyone would know what bits they are invited to by now. This year, it’s just wait and see,” Prince Andrew’s friend told The Daily Beast.
The members of the royal family, including Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson are said to be waiting to see how King Charles’ health holds up in the coming months before making plans.
The 75-year-old monarch, who’s currently touring Australia and Samoa, is expected to still be fighting cancer in December.
One insider claimed there will be much more messaging this year from the Prince and Princess of Wales’s camp of a “middle class flavor.”
The source, a former courtier who worked with the future King and his wife Princess Catherin, said they had been told the couple would take to social media over the holidays, sharing moments of their family Christmas.
“A little social media of the family eating chocolate and watching TV would be a very effective way of showing how normal Christmas is at Anmer Hall compared to what we hear about at Sandringham,” the source said.
“Kate has always found the presents on Christmas Eve thing weird. It is definitely going to be got rid of when they are officially running things, a friend of couple told the same outlet.
“I imagine it will continue this year at Sandringham in some shape or form but everything is going to be much more relaxed and have a middle-class flavor at Anmer Hall. You can bet your bottom dollar they will be doing proper presents for each other and the kids there on Christmas Day.”
The Waleses are unlikely to attend this year, especially if Queen Camilla again invites her son Tom Parker Bowles.
Prince Harry’s elder brother William doesn’t much like Camilla, despite having made peace with his father’s choices, and is made nervous by Tom’s somewhat louche lifestyle, sources have previously told the same outlet.
The friend said that William was “enthusiastic about embracing Kate‘s much more normal conception of Christmas,” adding, “It’s always been a slightly covert, rival Christmas party at their house, but it’s going to be much more obvious this year. If they post pictures, it’ll be an official coup attempt.”
“William and Kate have made an incredibly successful brand out of being normal and boring, but the crazy royal customs at Christmas threaten all that. It’s not surprising they want to change the narrative as they prepare to take the throne themselves.”
