The Prince and Princess of Wales and their family is wishing everyone a happy holiday season with their new 2024 Christmas card photo — and it’s a break from recent royal tradition.
Kate Middleton and Prince William revealed their Christmas card on Dec. 19 in a post on Instagram, writing, “Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas ????.” The post is a short video with the Christmas card propped up on a table with a twinkling Christmas tree behind it and faux snow sprinkling over the card. The picture in the card is a snap taken this summer, with William and Middleton sitting outside with their three kids. Princess Charlotte, 9, sits next to her mom, with one arm around her mom and the other around her older brother Prince George, 11. Prince Louis, 6, is on the other side of William, and the whole family looks happy (and sun-kissed!) as they smile for the camera.
Unlike prior years when the royals would share a never-before-seen family picture, this time, they chose a poignant photo that we have seen before: an image of the family of five taken from a video shared in September marking the end of Middleton’s chemotherapy treatment.
“As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Middleton wrote at the time. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”
In the lengthy message, Middleton added, “This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
The fact that Middleton has chosen this photo to highlight proves that she is reflecting on the tumultuous past year and is keeping family at the center of her mind right now.
Fans noticed it as well. “Lovely picture to be on this year’s Christmas card ???????? Merry Christmas to the entire Wales family! I love you all ????❤️❤️❤️❤️” one person commented. Someone else wrote, “This Christmas card is absolutely wonderful and the cutest ! Wishing you a very happy Christmas ????????”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared their holiday card this week, too, featuring a snap of Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. In this one, the Sussexes crouch down in a drive way with open arms as their red-headed children run to them with their dogs. “On behalf of the office of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundation, we wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful new year,” the card reads.
With all this holiday cheer going around, insiders think this might be the time the Waleses and the Sussexes get over their fued. Royal insider Grant Harrold, King Charles III’s former butler, recently told GB News, “I believe that Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan and wish them a Happy Christmas and I think Harry and Meghan themselves will possibly reach out. The thing about Christmas is that it’s all about goodwill to others, letting bygones be bygones, forgetting the past, moving into the New Year.”
He predicts the families growing closer in 2025, adding, “I have a feeling that they are. I really do think they are, but that’s just my personal feeling.”
Only time will tell!
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