Christmas 2016 was notable for several reasons. For one, Queen Elizabeth had a really bad, lingering cold, and she missed a lot of royal Christmas-festivities that year, for the first time ever. It was also notable because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent Christmas in Bucklebury, with Kate’s family, and they basically organized their own “royal Middleton Christmas” stroll to the local church. A lot of people noted that it was almost like William and Kate were telling the world that they had their own separate court, away from Prince Charles and away from the Queen. Their royal court was the Bucklebury Court, with the Middletons at the center.
But then time passed. Meghan Markle came on the scene. And I don’t think we should underestimate how Meghan’s entrance has fundamentally changed the familial dynamics of Charles and his sons. Suddenly, William and Kate are absolutely more “keen” to spend time with Charles, where they used to shun him. And now it seems like the Bucklebury Court is going to be less of a “thing” going forward:
Sticking with Sandringham. Prince William and Duchess Kate will no longer switch off between spending Christmas with the royals and the Middleton family, an insider tells Us Weekly exclusively.
“Moving forward, Kate and William will continue to do Sandringham every Christmas Eve and Day as opposed to alternating like they used to,” the insider reveals, noting that the pair will “visit the Middleton in Berkshire later in the festive season.”
“That’s the plan this year too,” the insider continues. “With the queen and Philip’s advancing ages, skipping years isn’t an option anymore.”
I think this IS about the Queen’s age and Philip’s age. But I also think it’s about other stuff too. I said months ago that the Cambridges would be especially keen to spend Christmas at Sandringham this year, mostly because they would not want Meghan and Harry to get all of the headlines for the Christmas Day church-walk. And now it looks like that’s the plan going forward – Meghan and Harry will never get a chance to enjoy a royal Christmas without William and Kate.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
I mean, is this a surprise? I don’t mean this meanly, but any one of these Christmases could be the last with Prince Philip. And then after that, it will be the first Christmas without him. And then, really, it could be nearing the end of the Christmases with Her Maj, too. And after that, the first Christmas without her… that’s quite a few years of needing to be there, regardless of any other reasons.
Exactly. Did you see those photos of Philip? He looks like an elderly man, which is he is at 97. And honestly, I don’t know how long QEII will last without Philip.
But…hasn’t this been the case for quite some time now and they were still switching off? I agree with Kaiser that it’s potentially a contributing factor but QEII and Philip have been of very advanced age for the entirety of the Cambridge marriage. Yes, we’ve seen some stronger signs of health issues but there was always the potential that one bout of pneumonia or fall that fractured something would be a quick game changer at their ages.
I don’t think so, not like it is now. Yes, of course, they’ve been elderly for years, but just look at pictures of them from a few years ago and compare them to now. It’s not such a dramatic difference in QEII, but Philip DOES look dramatically different, and not in a good way. Of course had something like what you suggest happened then maybe it would have changed the way they did things years ago, but thankfully it didn’t, and they could afford to do it the way they did- give Kate some Christmases done with her family their way, rather than having to give all of that up straight away on entering the family. But now, with or without Meghan, without ever bringing in the recent media antics, I’ve been thinking recently that they probably can’t afford to do that anymore, not when it REALLY is a case now of every Christmas maybe being the last.
Absolutely. They’ve had one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel for over a decade. The only difference now are the bad optics of seeing the Sussexes accompanying them to church and the missing Cambridges.
Honestly, this is silly, and the sad “Harry and Meghan never get a royal Christmas alone ever attitude” is just beyond ridiculous. Harry is now 6th from the thrown. Even if Charles doesn’t become King and somehow they ditch William there is still George, Charlotte and Louis. Harry is Andrew moons ago, only he is more removed from it. William has to perform more of these royal things the closer he gets to the thrown, even just a ceremonial function like being seen on the holiday church walk with family. For all you know maybe it was Kate who wanted her kids to see her family on Christmas, and now the Queen is older, they realize as the family of two kings to be, they have to show.
People are so weird about the royals. I swear a lot of William and Kate haters were the same ones who were so ga ga over William when he was young and hot, and now can’t stand him cause his brother, who used to be a bit of playboy, married an interesting person and professes a cool love story. The reality is Harry by birth has always had an easier path with more freedom than his brother. The sad part is William most likely wouldn’t have been allowed to marry a Meghan. He has always had to have a path which was more monitored, so he probably wouldn’t have even been in a social circle to have found something like Harry did. Harry and Meghan should thank their lucky stars he was the spare. It seems hard enough as it is. I mean having to monitor your nail polish color and being written about the wrong shade is crazy. Being further back from the thrown gives them freedom to do things a bit differently.
Two things:
1. I think if William steps away from the crown, I’m pretty sure but not positive his line goes with him, and it will be Harry who becomes heir.
2. With all my heart, I want the Queen to wear burgundy coloured nail polish to deliver her speech to the nation.
@Lady D —-I think your speculation on what would happen if William removed himself from the line of inheritance is flawed. By that logic, if for whatever reason Charles stepped aside, then both William AND Harry would “go with him”. If William stepped aside, George would succeed him. And if something happened with George, it would fall to Charlotte. There is not a big history of English/British monarchs abdicating, but in the 14th century Edward II was more or less forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Edward III. Of course the most recent was another Edward —who had never had children, thereby putting his next eldest brother as king and his brother’s eldest daughter as queen.
Why ever would you think William would step away? He was raised for the job and he’s done nothing to indicate otherwise. Harry has not a hope of being king, not that I think he’d ever want it.
Oh this made me smile. Of course they are sticking with being close to the Queen and PC. I also think they realize that being next in line to the throne (after Chuck) they may want to appear more engaged with the Royal family. And yeah, Megs aure has shaken things up. This is GOLD. And if they want the tradition of being ROYALTY and treated as such, then they need to buckle up and do what is expected of them.
I can’t keep up with whether or not we consider US Weekly is credible.
It’s not credible but this reporting just seems like common sense to me. I would expect it to be true not because they reported it, but because it seems reasonable that they’d want to be at Sandringham for the waning years of the Queen and Prince Philip. I’m sure the changed dynamics with the entrance of Meghan into the family factored in too. It’s just bad optics for Harry and Meghan to get all that PR and the heir and his wife appearing disengaged because they’ve elected to do Christmas elsewhere. I’m sure they’ll carve out plenty of holiday time with the Middletons, but Carole and Kate know that Kate didn’t marry into an ordinary family and royal Christmas is going to have to take precedence ultimately.
Hey i have that issue with every single media outlet. Carole Middleton said they are spending xmas with wk, what’s with all the rumuors? And why is Camilla avoiding royal family events?
A week or so ago, US actually had a toned-down, much more logical story about Kate, Meghan, and everything else.
US Weekly stole this from Victoria Arbiter.🙄
At the height of royal stories avalanche of crazy, she already pretty much stated ‘Don’t believe the hype’
And words to the effect that they’ll all be at Sandringham, cause most think this will be Philip’s last Xmas.
I think they could have several reasons besides Kate and William’s “threatened jealousy” to spend Christmas with the Royal Family, primarily the Queen’s advanced age, and Phillip’s fragile health. There has definitely been more of a push to remind everyone that Kate will be queen and William king, so perhaps in that sense, Meghan’s appearance may have leaned them toward this. Hey, I’d be happy if William has started to appreciate and fulfill his role instead of pretending they’re ordinary country folks.
Kate will be “Queen Consort” which is quite different than being the actual Queen. as she will have no constitutional status or power.
It’s still going to be many years before anyone has to think about “Queen Consort” Kate. Queen Consort Camilla is already tapping her foot and ducking all the brickbats being hurled at her at the same time!
I also think Kate was used to being the “pretty, thin, and fashionable” woman in the royal family, and now Meghan comes along who is much more fashionable and looks years younger. And on top of that, her work ethic only emphasizes Kate’s laziness. It’s gotta create some resentment, because her “looks” is all Kate had given the world, and she wasn’t known for anything else (other than her, um, “extreme patience” for nine years). So she has to re-make herself in an area Meghan cannot compete in, which is: Titles.
But the thing is, people don’t follow the royals because of mere titles — otherwise, there would be TONS more stories about Charles & Camilla than there are about William & Kate. So I think Harry & Meghan raised some deep-seated insecurities in William & Kate that, in the future, even though W&K will have the higher TITLES, H&M may hold the people’s interest and favor, and outshine W&K.
I’m not the greatest WK fan but to be fair, if the Queen and Prince Phillip are going to die in the next few years (sorry for being so blunt…) then it makes sense that William and Kate would feel a duty to be there every Christmas as they will be closer to the crown than they currently are. This will be their role sooner rather than later, hosting Christmas at Sandringham. If I was Kate, I probably would have tried to spend the holidays at my own family’s house while I still had the opportunity.
+1
They were both sick last Christmas and the Cambridges had no problem staying away so it is a little hard to believe this change is all out of consideration for the Queen and Phillips age.
Yes. Cynically, I suspect the calculation changed & it’s been recognized that the pr disadvantages overshadow everything else.
then william and kate sd have been there more often rather than being with the middletons –
#boutdamntime #sorrynotsorry
I think this will be the year we see the kids take part in the walk to church.
Hmmm. . .
William & Kate have only spent two Christmases in Bucklebury, in 2012 & 2016. That is only twice in 7 years. I’m not sure why people have this idea that they alternate every year, this has never been the case. They usually tend to be in Sandringham at Christmas. Another important factor is that their country home Anmer Hall is on the Sandringham estate which offers convenience & space.
Yes, and it hardly “shunning” one family to spend time with another. If Harry and Meghan ever spend the holidays in LA with Doria, are they “shunning” Prince Charles?
The Middletons always stayed at Amner anyway during Christmas so it’s not like they didn’t see them at all. They would stay until Kate’s birthday in early January.
Personally I think that families should alternate. A couple should not spend Christmas with just one side of the family. And I don’t think that Kate and William are keen to be there they have to for “work”. Pribably can’t think of anything worse than being with the royals this year.
Uh, it is HIS family. He’d be there with all of his cousins. Other than the church stroll, there’s no “public” part of Christmas at Sandringham.
I agree but the thing is William’s family funds his entire family. There is an obligation. When he is King he can spend it however he likes anyway.
SHES THE FUTURE QUEEN (CONSORT) DONTCHA KNOW. Sorry she’s been bashing us about the head with this. And no, no she won’t ever be Queen. I’m psychic you’ll see
I still think the monarchy will end when Charles passes.
If W&K were to show up in Bucklebury with their children that would also make headline news. The disadvantage of Sandringham is that we don’t get to see the Cambridge kids because young children are not allowed. Pictures of the entire Cambridge family out in public are always in demand because they are so scarce.
Didn’t we see Kate pushing baby Charlotte in a old fashioned perambulator going to Church one year?
The pram was during Charlotte’s Christening. The children have never attended normal church service at Sandringham.
i bet the whole cambridge family will be there at sandringham for sure
Okay–this is officially out of hand. Of the 12 posts on your front page, SIX are about British “royalty.” What the he*&? I do not care to read about them even every day, let alone six times in one day. I am tempted to bail on this site because of this. Ugh. Please, Celebitchy: reconsider.
I agree this blog and Lainey are literally obsessed with the royals. I don’t mind reading about them once in a while but 3-4 posts every day?
I look forward to posts about Duchess Meghan every day. I’m interested in her story and how she ultimately adjust to British Royal life.
I love it, I am a big royal watcher.
I say the more Royalty the better! I’m a Royal Stan, I admit, and I would much rather have the happy distraction of them than the depression I get reading about politics. And I really don’t care about Amy Schumer’s latest bout of throwing up or farting.
So yeah, MORE ROYAL STORIES PLEASE! 😊👍🏻
Agreed! I’ll take all the royal dram you got, the Windsor’s are my favorite, but I’ll read about others too.
It is their site. They’re allowed to post whatever articles they want. You are allowed not to read them. Simple, easy.
@notasugar, calm down. People are stating preferences, also allowed. You love telling people off don’t you? Unpleasant person.
@Astasia – no, she is a pleasant person and I’ve enjoyed many of her posts. It’s the holiday season, time to be kind.
@astasia please look in the mirror. notassugarhere simply (and pleasantly) reminded @enya she has the freedom not to read the posts about royalty. Her (@Enya) opinion is that there are too many. @astasia seems to me your taking umbrage with her response (telling her to calm down when she is simply stating a fact!) is pretty unpleasant all on its own. @Jaded please can we be kind all the time, not just during the holidays.
And yes, I do enjoy the royal posts specifically because it is one of the few ongoing story lines that does not relate to the horror that is politics right now, which I find exceptionally depressing and raging fueling. #stilltryingtotakethehighroad
Wow, SickandTired, that was really uncalled for. I, as well, enjoy NaS’s posts as she seems quite well informed and has a great memory for royal gossip past. Maybe you need to take care to not take all of this so seriously. It really is just a gossip site. As for the number of royal stories, I appreciate them because then I do not have to click on other sites (like the dreaded Daily Mail) to get the scoop. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!!!
Got some fragile Keen Defenders in the house here I guess. But really they do royal posts because royal posts gets them a lot of comments. It’s pretty obvious.
Royal stories attract the most comments so its business sense.
I think there is something to we don’t want to read about the Trumps anymore cause it is just too depressing, and Hollywood gossip is kind of dull lately. I think the Brits should try to monetize the American’s obsession with royals as we really do seem to be into them. See all the comments on these stories. I bite cause the headlines are good.
Yup. All the news about them is tragically true.
Yes and the tilted adoration towards one duchess is wearying.
I notice that most stories are based on DM but at least it gives us an opportunity to analyse them and the result is a lot of stimulating and informative discourse.
@Huh lol, this is a gossip website not “royal reporting.” Of course they are going to put their own opinions about what they think is going on and yes it will be incorrect, no one actually knows what’s going on – we are all speculating here. There is no reason for Kaiser to hire a royal expert when -( correct me if I’m wrong here Kaiser) she’s not exactly trying to achieve excellence in the standards of royal reporting. It’s a GOSSIP website for crying out loud. Yes this site tends to be more biased towards one duchess – you’ll find many other websites out there that are heavily favorable towards another. One of the reasons I enjoy this website is because there are endless gossip websites and other royal reporting websites that are mainly outlets for Meghan bashing and pro-Kate, so it’s nice to find solace with other people who like Meghan as well. If anything at least Kaiser allows the posts that are also critical (as long as its not hateful/racist, etc) of Meghan despite it being biased towards her.
@ARSESDS73 Exactly THIS!
@arsesds73….exactly how I feel too, finding ‘solace’ here is the right word.
I also love the posts about Royals and look forward to them.
I’d much rather read about Meghan and them (that’s how the royals should be referred to now: “Meghan and them”) instead of reading how bad things are getting because of Dump.
Hahah! That’s how I will be referring to the royals going forward. Meghan..and them. Thanks Himmiefan!
the royals are my favorite stories – family dynamics make great gossip!!
I can’t stand the Cambridges anymore.
Mark with all the Meghan bashing, smear campaign, I don’r like them either. I hope Prince Charles is the last Windsor King.
I will bet my last dollar that the Queen called Kate on the carpet last week with a list of decrees and this is one of them. We’re going to see a turn in the press in the coming weeks about how all of this was overblown accompanied by smiling photos of all 4 of them together.
This is such a sexist statement. First of all if anyone was going to be called out, it should be William. What exactly did Kate do that deserved being called out? Secondly, it’s more likely Kate was there to discuss a shuffling of the Queen’s royal duties goinf forward. Also, the Queen’s request for a family Christmas was known before last week. But honestly, why does it all fall on Kate? This is my biggest issue with how this is playing out, it’s making it sound like Kate and Meaghan are too blame, when it is really more about William and Harry
stop making so much sense! 🙂
You honestly think Kate didn’t have anything to do with the smears coming from the Cambridges camp?
Bluthfan, I don’t think the Cambridge’s are responsible for the majority of the leaks, maybe some but I think Charles (who looks really good in these stories, plus the timing of the biography and interviews) and Andrew are the main culprit, plus disgruntled staff. But Andrew had his nose out of joint over his daughtet’s wedding plus conveniently his shady dealings aren’t being talked about becuase instead the press is obsessed with “feuding” duchesses.
But no, I really don’t think this is all on Kate or that she is being raked over the coals by the Queen for it.
(It occurred to me that my name is different on my phone and iPad for some reason)
I’m confused if the Cambridges are lazy how do they manage to do all this PR against the Sussexes? As a person who has worked in PR I attest it is hard work and time consuming. Seems counter productive too.
@noway in a word Carole. She has all the initiative and drive needed plus connections to the tabloids.
Ah the annual “kate is all grown up, cutting the apron strings” article. Of course now we are getting this article multiple times since Meghan arrived.
LOL
Yeah, I’m sorry but it all makes sense. Also the part “– Meghan and Harry will never get a chance to enjoy a royal Christmas without William and Kate” is really petty. And the “mostly because they would not want Meghan and Harry to get all of the headlines for the Christmas Day church-walk”. seriously guys?
The British royal family is notoriously this petty and has been for centuries.
Agreed. People complain about the royal Middleton court but then say “H&M wont get to ENJOY xmas without them.” Lkke do you guys want them there or not?
I think I’d rather be killed than have to spend Christmas with that crowd. Poor old Phillip falling asleep over his boiled meat. William sullenly eating his chutney, while vapid Kate tries in vain to come up with something to say that’s vaguely interesting to anybody. Harry all up Megan’s butt while she chats away with the Queen. Charles and Cam trying to rise above it all. And the Queen side-eyeing everybody there, wondering how she became the matron of such a fu’d family.
Just sit me at the kids’ table and leave me out of it.
LOL! This pretty much sounds like some of my family Christmases. However, sometimes you have to make these sacrifices in the name of tradition especially if the grandparents are getting really old and frail. Nice to know that we have so much in common with the BRF.
Kids’ table is always the best!
There’s some pretty good mystery novels at indigo right now. They’re far more interesting than this regurgitated bs. All of this is complete fabrication for your clicks. Personally I like the mystery of the RF. I don’t like them being made into cheap celebrities.
right there with ya, @Tori!!
I agree. I’ll admit I also like the cute kids, the wardrobes where not every bit and pieces are shown- I can watch celebrity shows for that, and just the opulence of it all. I do find it funny how people try to make a prince and princess happily ever after story out of it though. Now we have Harry and Meghan living that. Still remember there are no great stories about what happens after happily ever after. This might be why at some point they all fall out of favor a bit.
Yes
Is anyone forcing you to read the posts much less post comments on them? This is absurd. There are plenty of posts that I don’t read on this site but I don’t go in the comments to announce how I am not interested in them. Everyone is free to ignore all the royal posts. But clearly many are reading them.
Christmas at Sandringham sounds terrible to be honest. Diana hated it – very cold and regimented. If I had other options I would take them.
It does sound like a chore but it’s only a couple of days out of a year so I guess they can grin and bear it. I read that one of the BRF traditions is to weigh themselves before and after Christmas lunch. With fun party games like that I’m not surprised that WK avoided the festivities whenever they could.
They weigh themselves before and after lunch? Huh? Geez, I thought my family was dull and boring. At least we play cards after lunch and the 2 lowest cards picked end up clearing the table and doing the dishes. Exciting, no?
Somehow, I think it would be fabulous to find out that after lunch the Royal Dudes sit around talking about whatever, and the Royal Babes break into the jewelry vault and start piling on the diamond tiaras and necklaces. Why not? If I married into that family, I KNOW I’d be hauling out some of that jewelry. 🙂
Wishing everyone a happy, relaxing holiday! 🙂
Weighing before and after lunch for fun?I would lose much weight at these kind of parties.
It is really much simpler: Pippa gave the Middletons a grandbaby they can comfortably share with their inlaws.
William really does just look like he’s in so much pain on that Christmas photo.
I may be alone in this thought, but I think if there is any actually truth in this Meghan vs. Kate “feud” the media keeps talking about, William is probably the one to blame. I think he might be a bit jealous of the intense popularity and likability of his younger brother and his new wife. William has always been the stuffy, proper royal, watching his younger brother enjoy his life, relatively untethered. I think William has a lot more of Charles in him, and Harry is more like Diana.
I may be alone in this thought, but I think if there is anything actually true in this Meghan vs. Kate “feud” the media keeps talking about, William is probably the one to blame. I think he might be a bit jealous of the intense popularity and likability of his younger brother and his new wife. William has always been the stuffy, proper royal, watching his younger brother enjoy his life, relatively untethered. I think William has a lot more of Charles in him, and Harry is more like Diana.