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Queen Elizabeth II was known to be a stickler for royal traditions, but every once in a while she was willing to bend the rules. That’s exactly what she did in 2006 when she invited Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton to Christmas at Sandringham.
The royal family used to abide by the “no ring, no bring” rule which meant that you had to be married to attend a private family holiday, per People. William and Kate didn’t get engaged until 2010, so the invite was unprecedented. The surprising end to the story is that the Princess of Wales declined the Queen’s kind invitation for a particularly bittersweet reason.
“Kate was incredibly saddened to lose both her grandmothers, and this will be the first time the family will have gathered since their deaths,” a source told the Daily Mail. “It’s a bit of a Middleton Christmas, and there’s no way Kate would not be part of it.” She wanted to be there for her family in their time of need.
Robert Lacey’s 2020 book, Battle of Brothers: William and Harry — The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, also addressed Kate’s respect for royal traditions despite Elizabeth’s modern approach. “It was the first time the Queen had extended such an invitation to an unregistered ‘girlfriend,’ but Kate had her own take on that break with tradition: she would go to Sandringham on Christmas Day only when she was engaged and had a ring to prove it,” he wrote. “The strong-willed ‘no’ from Kate showed she was willing to abide by tradition and wait until the time was right. She was not prepared to stamp over history in her rush to marry into the royal family.”
Kate waited until after her April 2011 marriage to spend the holiday with the royal family at Sandringham, but that doesn’t mean she’s stuck to every royal tradition. She and William have been prioritizing their roles as mom and dad over royal obligations. That commitment to their three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, became crucial after Kate was diagnosed with cancer.
It has always been kids over the crown for the dynamic duo as they modernize the monarchy while still honoring royal protocols of the past.
Before you go, click here to see our favorite of Queen Elizabeth’s fashion moments!
