King Charles hosts the annual pre-Christmas royal lunch without either of his sons

King Charles still doesn’t live in Buckingham Palace. He and Camilla have never “moved in.” They got away with it because BP is still undergoing a costly, decade-long renovation project, which became the perfect excuse for Charles and Camilla to just stay put at Clarence House, which they prefer. In the past two years, it’s always funny to hear reports of “the king has arrived at Buckingham Palace,” or seeing photos of his short “commute” to work at the palace. All of which to say, Charles was driven to Buckingham Palace today, where he’s hosting the Windsors’ annual pre-Christmas lunch.

These are some photos of Charles’s arrival, along with some of the other family members. Charles notably arrived with his private secretary Sir Clive Alderton and not Camilla? Tina Brown claims that Alderton is on the way out as well. It also looks like Prince Edward and Sophie arrived pretty early, which is nice because it feels like we can go months without seeing poor Edward. I assume that the rest of the family will attend, minus Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Prince William, Princess Kate and the Wales children. And obviously, minus the Sussex family too. Wow, a Christmas lunch where both of the monarch’s sons are absent. It’s absolutely what Charles deserves. I’m sure Princess Michael of Kent and her racist blackamoor jewelry will make another appearance. I’ll add more photos of the arrivals if they come in.

Updated to add Queen Camilla (who arrived separately), Princess Beatrice, Frederick Windsor and his wife Sophie Winkleman.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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60 Responses to “King Charles hosts the annual pre-Christmas royal lunch without either of his sons”

  1. Carrie says:

    The York women are also said to be away spending Christmas with their respective in-laws.

  2. Eurydice says:

    Boo hoo, poor Charles.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      “Biggest Christmas Evar!” they triumphantly proclaimed from BP’s offices

      Except it isn’t

      Because Gladys has won her nasty little game… she’s successfully alienated Fred from his entire family.

      They all hate him
      They all hate her

      And the only way they can vote their disdain is via “family events” that fall outside of official duties. Fred can’t even compel his own closest royal blood relatives to spend the holidays with him. What a contrast to Her Late Maj.

      If Fred needs to make up the numbers at the table at BP or even Sandringham to make it look like he’s not the pariah of the entirety of the UK, I hear Pee Emm and other Rota Rats would absolutely fall over themselves for a seat at the table. I mean, that’s Fred & Gladys’ usual M.O. now, right? Reward the tabs for throwing H&M and other relatives under the bus by hosting parties for them? The Rota assume much more than a parasocial relationship with the BRF based on how they phrase their articles… so it should be easy for them to finagle a seat at these luncheons…

  3. Libra says:

    Mike Tindal can now strut in as acting “brother” to William. He loves the spotlight so this works out well.

  4. StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

    There was a falling out between william and charles/camilla. He’s never around charles.

    • GTWiecz says:

      I noticed that this entire year. It was strange after Charles shared his cancer diagnosis that there was no picture of father and son. Do people remember how many events besides Trooping they were seen together?

  5. Sunnylf says:

    He said he wanted slimmed down, and that’s exactly what he got.

    • Chrissy says:

      Exactly. Too bad he never acknowledges that the British public is spending hundreds of millions to uphold the Royal farce and they can’t be bothered to do their part. Wake up, Britons!

    • AOC says:

      This isn’t slimmed down, this is anorexic! Be careful what you wish for Chuckles.

  6. Pebbles says:

    Did Sophie and Eddie’s kids not come either? Dear lord, this lunch is gonna be full of Parker Bowels and other hanger ons. Charles is a sorry monarch. His sons hate him, no doubt his brother too. I guess Ann will show up and her kids.

  7. Alex Can says:

    It’ll be a hoot if William releases the Wales’ Christmas card today.

  8. Catherine says:

    Traditions like this that exist because Queen Elizabeth II actually cared about family are just awkward with Charles as monarch. IMO the family; particularly the extended members enjoyed things like this because of her; with Charles it just seems like a formality. Arriving with your private secretary screams business meeting not family gathering. But then again with the BRF family gatherings are essentially buisiness meetings. I wonder if the Wales wanted to bail on all of the public Cristmas activities and this was the compromise. You don’t have to do the lunch but you have to do the Christmas walk.

    • BeanieBean says:

      This is very much like the Christmas office party, what with Charles arriving with his secretary & other commenters mentioning that it’s a big thank you to the rest of the family who have been picking up the slack in engagements for W&K. Thank you, valued employees, for your hard work this year. Lunch and an open bar.

  9. Miranda says:

    This is just sad. It’s what Charles deserves and what he set himself up for, yes, but it’s sad.

    Is there a single photo of Freddie Windsor where he DOESN’T look like he just snorted a Scarfacian mountain of coke?

    • lanne says:

      I snorted at Scarfacian!

      He also kind of looks like Dmitri Romanov–one of the killers of Rasputin along with Prince Felix Yusupov. That hollow-eyed, overbred look used to be called handsome but to me it just looks sickly. Or addicted.

      • Thena says:

        Rasputin’s killer Dimitri Pavlovich was a first cousin to Frederick’s grandmother, Princess Marina, so I would not be surprised at the resemblance. Also interesting to note that Prince Philip was also a first cousin.

      • Miranda says:

        @lanne – “Overbred” is exactly it! And he definitely does have that very dissipated look you see in so many of the exiled Russian nobility, which apparently passed for “hot” when TB was all the rage, lol.

        (BTW, I missed your announcement yesterday, but congrats on your adoption! Such an amazing holiday gift for you and your little one. ❤️❤️❤️)

      • QuiteContrary says:

        I missed your announcement, too, lanne!! What great news!

      • SamuelWhiskers says:

        I think you’re being flattering. Not sure if I’m landing on vampire or zombie, but that man does not look like a living breathing human being.

      • BeanieBean says:

        My goodness, he does! He’s Dimitri Pavlovich’s twin!

    • NoHope says:

      Well someone in the family has to be that person. No family holiday gathering complete without the problem substance user. Coking up for an unbearable Christmas luncheon is THE look.

      Weren’t there headlines a week ago that KC was planning to make this the biggest Christmas EVAH?

      I will say this: while KC is always being unfavorably compared to QEII, she bears responsibility for raising KC into a stunted emotional creature. She was a parent of her time and station, and he is the kind of person that results.

      • SarahCS says:

        I both agree and disagree with you as she didn’t really raise him, she palmed him off on others to raise! But yes, a lot of his issues absolutely stem from his upbringing and relationship with his parents.

    • Lady Esther says:

      Freddie Windsor always looks to me like someone just opened his coffin and pushed him out. And I thought Tom Parker-Bowles had the Peruvian Marching Powder (tm Robin Williams) angle covered, as it were?

      And that smile on Beatrice…she’ll attend the opening of an envelope these days to support dear Papa. I hope Eugenie is sunning herself on her deck in Portugal right now!

      • Chaine says:

        You beat me to to it. I always think Frederick looks like Prince William died and then someone revived him after a few days. A Saxe Coburg Gotha Jesus, if you will

      • antipodean says:

        My first laff of the day! Thanks for that, @Chaine. “A Saxe Coburg Gotha Jesus”……Brilliant, inspired, and deadly accurate! What a fun lunch this will be.

      • SarahCS says:

        Oh @Chaine you almost made me spit food all over my laptop! That’s outstanding work, thank you.

      • Chrissy says:

        Freddie Windsor always looked like the definition of an “undead” person to me – it’s the heavy dark eye shadows, I think.

      • bisynaptic says:

        LOL

  10. Amy Bee says:

    He wasn’t much of a father so this should be expected I guess. I saw a clip on GB News and the host asked if Harry and Meghan were going to be there. I’m sure she knew the answer but it just goes to show how desperate the press is to talk about them.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      The British press aren’t getting their Christmas wish of being able to abuse H&M for coming to the UK to visit fam and I love that for all of them.

      • Advisor2u says:

        Since they’ve been together & married (courtship started in 2016, Engagement in 2017, wedding in 2018), Harry and Meghan have attended the Royal Family’s Christmas/Holiday gatherings only twice out of eight times, and not once with their kids. The standard for the Sussex family’s Christmas holidays is away from the UK and the Royal Family.

        The expectation for H&M to attend stems totally from the monetising UK press, not from the Royal Family, more so Will’s and Charles, and their wives.

  11. ThatGirlThere says:

    One son he pushed away to another country. The other one he spoiled rotten and set him up to be a flop. Neither need him financially and so the King got what he wanted all along…Camilla.

    • Eurydice says:

      The one he pushed away still loves him, and the one he spoiled can’t stand to be in the same room with him. Tragic/funny.

  12. Well he is getting what he deserves!!

  13. Brassy Rebel says:

    Charles and Camilla don’t travel together and don’t even live together. To think how they screwed over Diana for this great “love story”.

  14. Lovely Rita says:

    I used to be intrigued and even a little impressed with the royal events. Now the royals themselves all look shabby and sad. And if it’s said that your true character shows in your face as you age, well, no one illustrates that maxim better than awful Sophie. She used to have a bland prettiness and now looks like a pit viper, and never could dress herself to be presentable. And the way no one is showing up for what used to be a “command performance” type invitation is just bizarre.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      They are voting with their feet this year! It’s telling. Very telling.

      Very Eeyore Man is having a Very Eeyore Reign. He isn’t liked, even by his own kin. They have good cause not to like him. The only ones who are showing up are the ones who are afraid of being turfed out of their homes a la the Sussexes & the Yorks, or the pathetic arrivistes like Tindall and the P-B’s who thrive on the social boost from being royal-adjacent and “need to be seen”. The ones with independent means like the Waleses have already dipped.

    • SarahCS says:

      We all predicted and speculated how the wheels would come off once the queen died and it’s been absolutely fascinating watching it happen. Even if H&M had stayed ‘in’ this would still be a slow and nasty car crash.

  15. Jais says:

    Huh. I thought there’d be photos of people walking in idk why😂. But I’m laughing at the arrival and the photos and the big smiles from the cars. There is clearly an agreement for them to get these arrival pics but they’re just people randomly in cars. No fashion nada.

    • Nic919 says:

      I think we have only ever gotten car pics for this lunch. I recall one year when kate and William actually went they showed Charlotte looking entirely different because they only had a months old photo of them for Christmas and she had already looked older.

      That was back when they didn’t bring out their kids all the time as a shield.

      • Jais says:

        I hadn’t realize its was always car pics but it just makes me laugh. Bc everyone is posed and smiling for their obligatory car pics as they go by.

  16. Thena says:

    Remember in 2019 when Harry and Meghan were in Canada for Christmas and William arrived at the palace early with George to take a four-generations photo with the Queen and Charles? And supposedly the photo was to show Harry that his family was not important? Well, now William’s work is done and he doesn’t need to show up.

  17. Over it says:

    Why is a corpse driving that car ? I swear that man resembles the living dead

  18. Vuyelwa Ncube says:

    The Wicked Stepmother won guys🤢. KC3 is deplorable

  19. AC says:

    It shows more to the world what a Dysfunctional family they really are. Did anyone even care about C+C Christmas card.

  20. Beverley says:

    Wishing King Charlie and Queen Side Piece everything they ever had planned for Harry and Meghan.

    Karma’s ‘bout to ring in an eventful New Year.

  21. QuiteContrary says:

    What a sad little procession to a sad little event.

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