With the holiday season in full swing and Buckingham Palace decked out in its festive finest, royal watchers everywhere are wondering the same thing: What are Kate Middleton and Prince William’s Christmas plans this year? After months of speculation about the Princess of Wales’s cancer battle and limited public appearances, all eyes are on the royal couple as they prepare for the festive season.
The royal family’s holiday season seems to be taking a deeply personal turn this year, with Prince William and Kate Middleton choosing to start their Christmas celebrations early at their cozy Norfolk retreat, Anmer Hall. The couple, along with their three children, opted to skip the traditional royal lunch at Buckingham Palace—and honestly, who can blame them after the year they’ve had?
2024 has been what Prince William himself described as “brutal,” primarily due to Kate’s cancer battle, which kept the Princess of Wales largely away from the public eye. But there’s finally a glimmer of holiday cheer: Kate has completed her chemotherapy treatment and is now focused on precious family time with William and their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and little Prince Louis, 6.
“No one could have expected what this year has brought for the Prince and Princess of Wales,” a family friend revealed to Page Six. “Family is so important to them, and the children are the center of their universe.” The source added that the couple is prioritizing intimate family time at home before joining the wider Windsor clan for Christmas Day celebrations.
The weight of this year’s challenges becomes even more poignant when you consider that William has called it “the hardest year of his life”—a striking statement from someone who also lost his mother, Princess Diana, when he was just 15.
Royal historian and family friend Hugo Vickers shared some encouraging news with Page Six: “I’m told she’s getting better and that’s indicated by slightly more frequent appearances… but it’s clearly been absolutely devastating and very difficult for her, and she’s not out of the woods yet.”
For now, Kate is embracing a gradual return to royal duties, which will continue well into 2024. She’s been spotted doing the school run and attending her children’s events, maintaining as much normalcy as possible. Her recent appearance at the “Together at Christmas” carol service at Westminster Abbey showed just how far she’s come—with one guest noting that “You wouldn’t know to look at her what she had been through.”
As the family settles in for their holiday celebrations, they’re reminding us all that even royals face the same challenges as any family dealing with health struggles. As their family friend noted, “Cancer is a leveler and every family around the world has someone who has been touched by that disease themselves, so we can all relate to what the Prince and Princess of Wales have gone through.”
