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King Charles has been preparing his Sandringham home ahead of the royals’ annual Christmas celebrations – including finalising the guestlist of who will attend the big festive celebration
King Charles is planning a big Christmas event as he focuses on keeping his family united following a year of health woes.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have decided they will be joining the King with their children for the huge celebration as the royals come together following the family’s year-long cancer battle. Question marks had hung the attendance of the King’s younger brother Prince Andrew with the pair seemingly at loggerheads over the Duke of York’s crumbling Royal Lodge home.
But despite the ongoing row, Andrew is expected to attend the family celebration despite being exiled from official royal duties in 2019 amid his association with the late paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Sources suggest the King has underlined his commitment to having the family united, especially over the Christmas period. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, and their two children, Lady Louise, 20 and James, Earl of Wessex, 16, are also expected to join.
The festive celebration will mark the first time the royal family have come together en-masse after a tumultuous year for the monarch and the Princess of Wales, who were diagnosed with the disease within days of each other. King Charles and Kate even spent time in the same hospital at the same time over several days in January. The King was said to have ‘toddled’ down the hospital corridor to comfort his beloved daughter-in-law as they both recovered from surgeries.
The future queen was admitted to the London Clinic in Marylebone for an abdominal operation on January 16, when Charles was also admitted for a procedure on an enlarged prostate. Secondary tests revealed the King was suffering from a “form of cancer”, while astonishingly doctors also discovered in Kate’s post-op tests that disease had also been “present” in her body. Both the King and Princess stepped away from public duties to concentrate on their recovery.
While the monarch is still receiving weekly treatment, the Princess of Wales revealed in October, after eight months of chemotherapy, that she had finally completed her treatment.
Royal sources have revealed how the King is ‘delighted’ to have the Prince and Princess and their three children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine and Prince Louis, six – confirmed for Christmas and has already been making plans to celebrate with them and his extended family after such a difficult year.
The King has this week been preparing his Sandringham home ready to welcome the family to Norfolk for the festive holidays. Royal sources revealed how Charles has been touring the estate and main house this week, busy liaising with staff about Christmas plans.
The King returned to London briefly on Tuesday to continue his weekly treatment plan as well as presenting credentials to foreign ambassadors and high commissioners at Buckingham Palace. But he swiftly returned to Sandringham on Wednesday to carry on with his Christmas planning.
A royal insider said: “The King is embracing the Christmas period already and really getting into the spirit. Staff who have seen him this week remarked how happy and healthy he was looking.”
Charles will spend the weekend on the estate with the Queen before they return to London on Monday, but have been enjoying the estate so much together that they are planning and extended festive break and will spend New Year’s Eve in Norfolk.
A source close to the King said: “His Majesty has taken great solace in being among nature and enjoying time outdoors throughout his cancer treatment. It’s something he believes has helped him incredibly throughout his ordeal. He is very much looking forward to spending quality time with as many of his close family as possible.”
Charles and Camilla will travel to Scotland to stay in Balmoral in early January, while the King will undertake some private engagements at first, returning to public duties a week later. The Queen, who has been recovering from a “nasty” chest infection, forcing her to cancel some duties in recent weeks, will be with her husband throughout the festive and New Year period.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the King and Queen, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, will lead a State Visit from the Qatari royal family. Camilla also has a literacy engagement next week in London, one of the pillars of her work in recent years. Buckingham Palace did not comment.
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