King Charles's New Holiday Tradition Has a Sweet Tie to Queen Elizabeth

The Windsors are gearing up for a packed house at Sandringham Estate this year, with Prince William recently revealing that a total of 45 family members will be attending the “noisy” festivities. With some notable exceptions–Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, as well as their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly staying away, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle–almost the entire royal firm will come together at the royal family’s countryside getaway. And according to People, King Charles is reportedly adding a new holiday tradition with ties to late Queen Elizabeth to accommodate the crowd.

The royals will continue some long-standing Christmas customs, including exchanging gag gifts on Christmas Eve, and walking in procession to Sandringham House to St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day before enjoying a post-service meal back at the house. However, sources tell People that this year, Charles decided to change the location of the traditional Christmas lunch he holds about a week before the Christmas holiday.

Last year, he hosted the annual private family luncheon on December 20 at Windsor Castle with guests like Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Princess Eugenie, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Zara Tindall, and Peter Phillips. However, with more of these guests coming to Norfolk this year, the monarch has reportedly decided to host the luncheon at Buckingham Palace instead for the first time during his reign.

It’s unclear why Charles decided to move the lunch to London instead of holding at Windsor like usual, but his decision is a sweet nod to his late mother Queen Elizabeth. The late monarch traditionally hosted over 50 people in London for the luncheon, many of whom were extended family members, before heading to Norfolk for the holidays.

The London location might be a little less convenient for the Wales family, as Kate Middleton, Prince William, and their kids are located just a few minutes away from Windsor Castle at Adelaide College. However, it’s possible the larger-than-usual guest list might have something to do with it. There’s also a possibility that Charles might invite family members to the London luncheon who won’t be joining for the Sandringham portion, like Prince Andrew and his family, who are reportedly bowing out of this year’s festivities in light of a new political scandal.

BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond recently revealed that the royal family is embracing a larger crowd this season after a tough year of Kate and Charles’s health battles.

"After the year they’ve had, I’m sure it’s going to mean the world to the King and Queen to have as many of their family as possible joining them for Christmas," the royal expert told OK!, per The Mirror.

Kate’s parents are expected to attend this year’s festivities, and Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles will also be making his Sandringham debut. Bond added, “I’m sure this will be a Christmas when the whole family will want to unite around Charles and Camilla, and William and Catherine, to help put this year behind them and cheer them into a brighter year ahead."

Read the original article on InStyle