King Charles and Queen Camilla will lead the charge on Christmas again this year.
On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King, 75, and Queen, 76, will attend the morning service at Sandringham Church on Christmas Day. The couple will be joined by other members of the royal family and make the march together next Monday.
The royals have celebrated Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk for generations, and their walk to the nearby St. Mary Magdalene Church on Dec. 25 has become a holiday tradition. Last year was especially significant as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s first time leading the family of the new royal reign as well as the return to the annual tradition for the first time since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, King Charles is “keen to maintain many of his late mother’s traditions,” Caroline Perry, the author of The Corgi and the Queen, exclusively tells PEOPLE. To that end, the upcoming holiday will likely look much like last year’s, as the royal family is meticulous about its Christmas traditions.
The royals are known to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, continuing a German custom that Queen Victoria’s Bavarian-born husband, Prince Albert, introduced in the mid-19th century. The family is also known to swap silly presents instead of expensive gifts. Kate Middleton reportedly once gave brother-in-law Prince Harry a plastic Grow Your Own Girlfriend kit — before he met his wife, Meghan Markle!
After the present swap on Christmas Eve and morning service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day, the royals retreat to Sandringham House for a traditional Christmas lunch of roast turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry, bread sauces and Christmas pudding. Following the festive lunch, the family tunes in to the monarch’s annual televised address, which airs at 3 p.m. in the U.K.
King Charles set his own tone with his first Christmas speech as sovereign last year and filmed it in Quire of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and his father, Prince Philip, are buried. In contrast, Queen Elizabeth typically filmed her speech at Buckingham Palace, seated at a desk and surrounded by framed photos of royal family members. King Charles’ decision to stand gave him an active stance during the speech, and he spoke with more emotion than his mother characteristically did, body language expert Judi James told the Daily Express.
“I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, The late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father. I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family,” the King said, referring to his mother’s death at age 96 three months prior.
Illuminating what was on his mind as a modern monarch, King Charles praised the critical community work of “churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras.” He also acknowledged the “great anxiety and hardship” that people face today, “be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm.”
Much like the King’s next Christmas speech, the family members expected to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham remains under wraps. As the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Princess Kate will likely attend with their three kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, and ITV reported in November that Queen Camilla has invited her children and grandchildren to join the lunch for the first time.
In years past, Camilla would leave the royal family’s Christmas gathering in the afternoon to spend time with her son Tom Parker Bowles, daughter Laura Lopes and five grandkids on the holiday. Now that she helps host the holiday with King Charles, however, the time might be right to bring her family further into the royal fold.
Prince Harry and Meghan are not expected to step out for Christmas at Sandringham, as they remain based in her home state of California with their children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex last spent Christmas with the royal family in 2018 and welcomed Archie in May 2019.
The following year, the family of three spent the holiday privately with Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, after announcing they were taking a brief break in Canada for “family time.” In January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step back from their royal roles.
