The Royal Family’s first holiday gathering in two years will be a bit more somber.
After celebrating Christmas separately the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will be spending it together with a gathering at Sandringham.
The celebration will be a bit more lonely as Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September before she could join the party.
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“It will be hard, as the Queen was all they knew, like most of Britain,” said a former palace staffer to People. “The first year is most difficult, as it is always the first of everything that you notice.”
King Charles III’s siblings, as well as Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children are expected to attend.
It’s unclear whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will join the gathering, especially after the release of their controversial Netflix documentary.
Despite the tension in the family, the dedications to the late matriarch have already begun, with a tribute written in the program for the annual Christmas concert held by Middleton.
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“This carol service is dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and to all those who are sadly no longer with us. Her Late Majesty’s strongly held values of duty, compassion and faith have guided the creation of this service,” the message inside the Royal Carols: Together at Christmas program read.
