The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did not bother with changing their Christmas plans to suit Queen Elizabeth. The rise of Omicron in the UK meant that the Queen cancelled the annual royal Christmas festivities at Sandringham, in Norfolk, and she stayed at Windsor Castle. Prince Charles and Camilla changed their Christmas plans so that they could spend “royal Christmas” with the Queen, and they were photographed (with the Wessexes) going to St. George’s Chapel on Christmas morning. The Queen stayed at the castle, she didn’t go to church.
Anyway, my point was that Kate and William didn’t change their plans. They still traveled to Norfolk, which was their original Christmas plan. Carole and Michael Middleton stayed at Anmer Hall, and so it was a very Middleton Christmas. The Middletons and the Cambridges went to church in Norfolk too:
Merry Christmas from the Cambridges! Kate Middleton and Prince William were spotted taking their kids to church on Christmas morning. Eight-year-old Prince George, 6-year-old Princess Charlotte and 3-year-old Prince Louis piled into the family car as they left the church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen’s Sandringham estate on Saturday.
William was behind the wheel in a shirt, jacket and tie, while Kate wore a plaid jacket and a feathered hat. The three kids, with Charlotte sitting between her brothers, peered out the window from the backseat as they made their way home to Anmer Hall.
Elle Magazine said that Carole and Michael went to church too, just in a different car. I’m a tad surprised that William and Kate didn’t just take the kids to Bucklebury, but again, it looks like they didn’t deviate from their original plan at all. The only concession they made to all of the changes was that they didn’t do the “walk to church” – they drove to church.
This also marked the first time William and Kate had been seen in public since December 8th, which was when Together at Christmas was filmed at Westminster Abbey. I still believe that someone either got Covid or was a close contact at the Abbey and that’s why we didn’t see William and Kate for two-and-a-half weeks before Christmas.
This Christmas will be different to what so many of us had planned. From those who are alone or having to isolate away from loved ones, to the incredible people supporting our NHS and caring for those most in need – we are thinking of you. W & C
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) December 25, 2021
Kate Middleton and Prince William Take George, Charlotte and Louis to Church on Christmas Morning https://t.co/ESYqFIipzq
— People (@people) December 25, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace and Instar.
William looks full of festive cheer, doesn’t he?
He never have any “good angles” in photos anymore.
Well your younger brother’s wife giving you and your favourite tabloid an ass-whooping in court wouldn’t exactly fill you with cheer, would it 🙂
Once again, I find it SO interesting that PA Middleton is masked whilst in the midst of his unmasked family.
I’d be triple masked, socially distanced, and spraying a cloud of disinfectant around me. This picture is terrifying. I was on a plane yesterday packed in like this, but double masked and choosing to trust claims of a sophisticated ventilation system. And I’m still worried.
If it helps, a friend who’s been in the ER throughout often was only wearing a surgical masked when actively treating covid patients, and so far, it’s been enough. She hasn’t gotten it. Also, N95s might be good to switch to, I think Amazon still has a lot of counterfeits but ProjectN95 has lots of good options, inc surgical type ones that are goofy looking but easier to breathe in. Wishing you the best…
BettyRose, make sure the surgical masks you get are at *least* 4 ply. A lot that are sold are only 3 ply. It makes a difference.
Also, there are some FDA approved KN95s on Amazon; I just ordered my nephew in NY 2 boxes (60 in each). I feel better knowing he’s wearing those (he works in Midtown) than the little cloth masks he’s used up til now.
Good luck!!
Thanks for the advice! I’m hoping not to be back in an airplane until April, but good to be prepared in advance with the right masks. I remember how hard it was to get them in the early days. (And otherwise I avoid large indoor gatherings although still wavering on NYE. The venue is checking vax records and requiring masks so . . .)
Mike was the only one properly masked for the service. They all should have been wearing a mask and only vanity is why they didn’t. The Abbey is an indoor event and everyone else would have had to wear a mask. With around 100 k new cases a day the UK has not done well and being slack for things like this in the age of omicron is why.
Approximately 40 people can be seen in the bottom picture of the audience, and I can count five masks. It doesn’t seem many are taking it seriously at all.
TeamAwesome, it does make one wonder of there is any truth to the rumors about him and Carole living separately. That said, he has always seemed to be the least thirsty Middleton, so I imagine he was happy to follow precautions and mask up, not caring about getting his face seen on camera.
I hope the girl in the row behind them just pulled her mask down when she saw the photographers, then wore her mask correctly the rest of the time.
If I were the clergy of that church I’d be reigning hellfire on them for not masking wtf?
I know, right? There’s a GD pandemic going on and them flouting the rules, as usual, makes them all look like complete asses that they are! Thanks for infecting everyone in the chapel!! And making it harder for NHS staff as you created more infections due to your own vanity!! FFS, wear a GD mask!!!
@TeamAwesome, Michael has always been such a mystery to me. From the little we know, he seems like a good, stand-up guy — I just get that vibe from him, that he’s a decent person — but clearly Carole calls the shots in that family, and he chose to marry her and chooses to remain as a doormat (unless he agrees with most of what she does, but is simply less vocal about it).
But for some reason I don’t think that’s the case…he always looks a tiny bit embarrassed to me, not like Carole, who always comes across as incredibly smug whenever we see them at events like Ascot. He appears to be happy enough tagging along, not like the cat that ate the canary. It’s puzzling.
It actually reminds me of something that happened last night; I was watching a Little House on the Prairie Christmas show with my son, and he asked why someone as nice as Mr. Oleson married someone as mean as Mrs. Oleson (something I’ve also wondered for my entire life, lol). I had no answer and kind of shrugged, like “who knows!”
Only the two people in a marriage will ever truly understand it.
I’ve said before (and I think others have also made the comparison here) that Michael is Mr. Bennett to Carole’s Mrs. Bennett. He also seems very laid back, maybe even “meek” — it might just be easier for him to go along to get along with Carole’s schemes rather than put his foot down. I do think it’s sad though if he doesn’t agree with the way Carole has influenced their kids but just let her call the shots, because look what they’ve grown into.
It’s interesting that, the media expected the Sussexes to fly over for XMAS to be with the queen, there were articles shaming them, and portraying them as uncaring if they did not come to UK for Christmas, but radio silence, from the royal rodents about these two, abandoning the queen for the Middletons.
@Abena Asantewaa … Agreed. I’ve been wondering why the Cambridges are so blatant with their choice–over and over again–of visiting the Middletons rather than his family on Holidays. I think William and Cate are preparing the British people for a ‘Carol Queen Mother’ once William gets the throne.
Kate and those children are Carol’s big investment.
1+ Exactly. How dare the Sussex’s spend time with Meghan’s mother for Christmas and not with the queen who’s assisted in throwing them under the bus.
Thanks to Will and Kate taking off, the DF couldn’t print the ‘horrible heartbreaking abandonment by Harry and Meg’ at Christmas.
I’m surprised Kate pulled out the Jecca look for Christmas. And it seems she is wearing a very non-festive black turtleneck.
All I can think of is that on Christmas morning she was riding high from her piano performance publicity coup of the night before and had yet to get the dismal ratings report.
It made me remember how Jecca and Kate attended the same wedding. Jecca who had set the “outback” hat style wore that but then Kate wore the same at at that very same wedding.
@Tessa, do you happen to have a link? I would absolutely love to see Kate cosplaying Jecca in Jecca’s presence.
She brings out that hat every year around this time, often for her birthday where she walks six feet ahead of her “friends” going to and from church.
It’s a really ugly hat. I always wondered why she wears it. Mystery solved
For three years the Sussexes have been criticized for not crossing an ocean to be with the Queen but of course the media is absolutely fine with the Cambridge’s not traveling a couple of hours. I think they stayed in Norfolk because they knew it would give them a solo spotlight on their way to church.
oh yes and all the cries for the Queen to see her great grandchildren and the sussexes didn’t. Not a sound of criticism about her not seeing the Cambridge great grandchildren.
I can’t help but notice, the lack of warmth between kates brother and new wife. What a dull family in general.
She looks nervous and unsure of herself. There’s an expectation of royal protocol, Cambridge style, and we’ve all heard how difficult that is for married ins. She seems to be looking to Carol for guidance.
I hope the marriage works out.
CarolE can’t be the easiest mother-in-law to get along with…in fact she’s probably the MIL from hell — bitchy and condescending.
She’s also probably not used to attending Church of England services.
@CC – the Middletons are Anglican (C of E) so they’re familiar with the services. Not necessarily regular church-goers as such but comfortable with attending regularly now. Kate was baptized into the Anglican church and confirmed prior to marrying William.
@Jaded, I meant the French wife probably hasn’t been to that many.
The Midds are not regular church goers. They only started attending church once the engagement with William was announced. It became annual pap strolls at Easter and Christmas, the only two days they attend, when they hadn’t been to church in years before that. Kate was only confirmed a few months before the wedding; it isn’t like she was a commited follower.
@ notasugarhere : I regularly attended a Catholic Church downtown when I lived in Toronto, Canada. I am familiar with the experience of having to sit somewhere else on Easter & Christmas because the dilettantes were attending church on holiday Sunday. I would think well, where the heck were you the other fifty Sundays of the year? It was all for show.
People magazine prints more royal content than the Rota. It’s off-putting.
Thank you. I noticed that too. People magazine is as bad as the British media/Rota with all this BRF embiggening.
It went downhill when they hired a Brit as the head editor. Since then it has been royal overload.
I guess “People” is the Cambridges’ go-to American mouthpiece?
Probably because they were the publication who printed Meghan’s friends’ rebuttal as well — the Cambridges can’t let that stand.
Simon Perry is now at People and he’s the one who decided that they need a special royals edition. So he likely made sure to connect with the Middletons so he would have some content.
Are the writers too lazy to come up with new content? This People article had their previous lovely quote: “The Cambridge kids are “all very polite children,” a family friend told PEOPLE, “but they have a little twinkle in their eyes. They have all the right ingredients.””
@Equality, “All the right ingredients!?” That…really rubbed me the wrong way. If Harry had never met or married Meghan, I probably just would have rolled my eyes at how ridiculous People is, but imo it comes across as far worse considering the circumstances.
@Lorelei Same thought here! Such awful wording that gives off eugenics-vibes
Is this the Mids … Cambridges establishing the new royal Christmas tradition?
I agree. Once QEII has passed I can’t see Charles having the whole gang around at Sandringham and the Cambridges know it.
@Bettyrose, I agree Ma Middleton may be trying to establish this tradition. I think Wills could care less and is of the notion once in charge he can do as he pleases.
On a side note, that pic where Pa Middleton is masked – they all look so tired and haggard. Maybe it’s just me.
Good for Michael Middleton for wearing a mask indoors, as people are supposed to.
+1
The Milli Vanilli of piano playing.
LOL! It got her the spotlight though, which was the goal, I guess. The bar is so low with this lazy woman that even her mediocrity is celebrated by the press.
I thought she did a fine job, even if it was pre-recorded. Like many of you, I had no idea Kate played the piano before yesterday. That said, it was painful to see Willy throw her under the bus with his condescending comments about her practicing so much (because she needed to) and improving as a result, as if she were twelve. I have to say, as much as I dislike KM, I felt a little badly for her. She’s not a performer by nature but she gave it her best, and her own husband cut her down with ice cold shade. Ouch.
I didn’t realize that William commented on her performance — yikes and not surprising.
Where did you read that he made these comments?
The Fail.
Someone on Twitter came up with ‘Felicia Keys’.
^^ 🙂 :rofl: :rofl: LOL! Tee hee!
It makes me sad to know that if the Sussex’s were still in the UK and skipped what could be the queens last Christmas to be with Doria, the press would have crucified them. The appalling double standards of the Cambridge’s behavior versus the Sussex’s just frustrates and angers me so much 🤬
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest ☺️
Everything you just said Harla. Unfortunate we know why that is, Doria and her daughter aren’t white , so all bets are off in regards to what they get attacked for.
@Harla same. It is frustrating and anger making, but anyone with eyes and ears can see and hear what is being done, and more and more people are aware every day.
Yeah I’m surprised too that they didn’t go to Bucklebury. W&K could have spent some time with HM, get a photo in of meeting the queen like the other royals did and then drove off to spend Christmas with the Midds but I guess they didn’t want to change plans.
Honestly ,this is the one case where Baldingham deserves all the blame!!!! The queen is his Grandmother and she’s 95, he could have at any point said to Keen Karen and her family “hey my grandmother’s 95 and she’s only got so many christmas’s left, so lets try to make an effort and go and see her( Also, we can add it to our event numbers).” And, after she’s gone we can spend all the time you want with your mother/pr rep. Carole. Hell, he could have pitched it to Kate that she would still get to grab the spotlight with a chruch walk to Windsor,…. with the children,…. and that mean Meghan and Harry wont be there!
Omicron is no joke. It is highly contagious and William seems like he is out and about and not an enthusiastic mask wearer. I wouldn’t have him anywhere near the Queen right now.
Of course the shadow court headed by the Middletons is all over TQ not going to church. Great PR for them. Wonder if they did a cut price hunting game shoot on Boxing Day.
Thanks to the invisible contract there was no outrage from the press about the Cambridges not spending Christmas with the Queen.
What a beautiful church.
I am wondering if they didn’t want the take the children to see the Queen because they are too young to be vaccinated. They must see other children, parents and teachers at school and maybe there was a concern for her health? Idk
So they spend weeks of the holiday around the Middletons, unmasked, spreading whatever anyone brings to the household. Thereby making sure they cannot take the kids to see the Queen for at least two weeks after Carole finally leaves Anmer.
This was not done to protect QEII. It was done to give Kate/Carole a pap parade. Must been more affair rumours coming up.
Of course. Thinking of those who isolate at Christmas while happily trotting off to celebrate with three other households.
Shouldn’t they have been with the queen this year? She lost her husband and is in poor health. Suck it up and act like you enjoy it. Spend Boxing Day with Kates parents.
So rude and heartless of them. She had a rough year and needs her family for support.
When William becomes king one day, it appears the Middleton family will be front and center, with the Wessexes and Yorks relegated to obscurity. If Will & Kate stay married.
Considering how old they all will be by that time I think the future rf will only be George, Charlotte and Louis.
If Louis is smart he will do like H and run. Charlotte will be the new Princess Royal eventually and, of course, the only girl and George will be a future. Louis will be the spare used as a distraction for anything Will or George do.
Charlotte is the spare and will be the one used to deflect from anything negative George does.
Harry has shown only the heir line should be working royals. It may be the Princess Royal title dies out. No need to give it to Charlotte if she isn’t a working royal.
Charlotte may be the actual next in line after George but I think Louis will be the one thrown under the bus. I’m sure W will want the Princess Royal title for Charlotte and Louis already seems like kind of an afterthought with Will.
I hope Charles lives as long as his father. Keep Willileaks and the Middletons away from the throne as long as possible.
@Equality, ITA that it will be Louis thrown under the bus (for the most part). It’s hard to know since William only had one brother so the press had no other option, but for some reason I see poor Louis being used as cover for George (if George even needs it…who knows how any of them will turn out). In any case, I hope Louis bounces off to the US the moment he turns 18.
@Nota, I think the Cambridges have shown us that they don’t associate the titles with work, lol, only status. I guess Charles could be the one to make the decision, but I have a hard time imagining Charles doing anything that would anger William *so* much unless there was a very good reason for it.
The Middletons believe it is just a matter of time for them to become the Royal Family.
Remember Charles wants to streamline the Monarchy? I bet William says he agrees until he becomes King, by that time he will make all his children to be working royals, Carole will be made Duchess etc….
For all the ” Megah w ill destroy the Monarchy” and ” Kate is saving them all.” it will be the grasping Middletons that will enrage the brits.
I don’t know @moderatelyweathly, william might have to wait another 20-30 years before ascending the throne so the likelihood of Carole and Mike living long enough to enjoy those perks is pretty slim.
Maybe Pippa & James could enjoy the perks, plus if William keeps them around, they could become the “royal scapegoats” now that Harry & Meghan are gone.
@ Mslove, I could see that scenario play out. Pippa and James to be his new scapegoats. It wouldn’t be a stretch for him considering he did it to his own brother. Baldingham has no love for anyone, and that includes Mumbles McMutton. The way he looks at her in every public setting seems to be of complete disgust and hatred or anger that he hasn’t been able to leave her, which I think he intended to do before Harry and Meghan bounced out of Britain.
@Moderatelyweathy … I posted something similar upstream (will teach me to post before reading all the comments). I think William and Kate are pushing their (and their children’s) ‘close’ relationship with the Middletons in preparations to name Carole ‘Queen Mother.’
Royalists who actually believe that some people are born better than others will never accept Carole as the mother of the Queen (consort) warrants the same title as the Queen Mother. It was only ever used because the queen and her mother both were named Elizabeth and the queen mother was a Queen consort herself. (And mother of the queen not the Queen consort)
Is the poor poor 95 year old queen who just lost her dear husband of 70 years this year no longer in need of the companionship of the dutiful Cambridges, who she knows she can depend on because they have stepped up their duties and commitment to her in her time of need because you know in case you forgot, she lost her dear husband this year.
What a false. If Harry and Meghan had pulled this if they were still in England. Piss Morgan and the entire carnival of clowns royal experts would be lining up to linch them for abandoning the poor dear 95 years old woman who just lost her dear husband
Once again Clan Middleton descended on Anmer Hall, because Carole just has to Queen it Up with Sandringham staff as often as possible.
The middling Middletons.
And Meddling!
Lol!
I think it’s pretty bold to assume that the lack of work since December 8 was due to Covid and not laziness! After all, surely the Top CEO ™ still has a zoom account and access to social media.
I wonder if maybe there was a little mini holiday in there, or if they’ll just take January off? Maybe January and February, just for good measure – gotta gear up for a jubilee year!
Definitely more due to laziness. That concert was about ten engagements for them so they took the rest of the month off. Now on to their january vacation to Mustique before Lazy’s birthday.
@Jay, there are a handful of phrases used to describe Kate and/or William that will NEVER not be funny to me. “Top CEO” is definitely one of them, along with “Gold Standard.” I’m sure there are lots of others I can’t think of at the moment, but Top CEO is for sure one of my top five, lol.
Maybe the queen doesn’t want them spending chrismast with her.
Boldimort and kopykeen had embarrass her because of the court case.
I have a feeling the Queen is not up to taking many visitors and did not want to see them.
After TQ blatantly blanked W+K in Christmas 2020 at the Magnificent 7 pap parade, I would hazard her not caring to see them in particular a very good guess.
I think the Queen has no more fucks to give vis-a-vis Willnot and Kannot. They’ve become an embarrassment.
Maybe she feared listening to Kate accompany her latest Coldplay CD with her on the piano. After all Noel Cowerd used to pop round and play TQ his latest songs in 1940s because he was a big hit with the RF and they also loved Danny Kaye. Kate on the piano doesn’t have the same allure, does it?
^^+100! LOL! I think you’re right. Kate’s ‘light’ piano playing is not even close to having “the same allure” as that of pro performers like Danny Kaye and Noel Coward.
I have no quibble with the composition of the Cambridge Christmas photo, but Louis does seem to be a bit by himself, although he is sitting in front of Kate. None of the kids are physically close to the parents in the pose, and Kate and William both seem to be “reaching” to be in contact with Charlotte and George. I could have done without a view of William’s crotch. Louis would have done a good job of standing somewhere near William. I was just thinking of some Obama family portraits, and the recent Sussex photo, and they’re all “connected.” I guess stuff happens when you have a family where some are more important than others as a matter of birth.
I thought George should have been sitting on the ground between William’s legs.
The way it is staged, the photo could be cropped to show only William and Kate. Or, only William, Kate, and George (they are wearing similar color palate, while the other two kids stand out in blue; William is leaning away from Charlotte, but would appear to be leaning towards George/Kate if the photo was cropped). I wonder if that was on purpose, and the photo was considered for other uses before ending up on the Christmas card (the way the queen has some photos of only the “important” members of the family?).
The photographer may have done the placing himself. For wedding pictures, we were moved into place by the photographer and his assistant. No say in the matter. Just sign the check.
When I read W&K and Middleton were going to Sandringham and Anmer, I definitely thought it was a chance for this bunch to pretend they were King/Queen/RF for the holidays. No one else was there, so they could swan around, ring for the butlers and be grand. I’m surprised they had the self restraint to not do the church walk. And ITA that in part, all this brings Pippa & James into the fold as scapegoats until Char and Lou are old enough to take the heat as the spares.
I agree, nothing will stand in the way of the Muddleton clan partaking of the free five star luxury Anmer Hotel available for free. Finally, they feel they have arrived as they are attended by staff round the clock. Just like any other family. (Eye roll)
Someone up thread said the Cambridges are a no show because the banned them for their role in Meghan’s court case. HM gave the Keens a shout out in the Christmas speech. I think House Cambridge has been hit with COVID and Christmas with the Middletons is the cover story. It wouldn’t be the first time Billy didn’t come clean about health status and for him that is important.
The Middleton Clan would prefer to be with each other than anyone else. It is quite likely that the Queen did not particularly want to see them at Christmas. Peter Philips is meant to be her favourite grandson because she always asks him to sit beside her. She would probably feel a lot more comfortable with Charles, the Wessexes who she sees the most often. Remember too the Queen and Duke were not even at Louis’s christening. Probably because the Duke was Godparent at the christening of a grandchild of Penny Mountbatten a day or two later.