Whether it’s opening a stocking in your pyjamas at the bottom of your parents’ bed (yes, even as a 20-something!), eating a Terry’s Chocolate Orange for breakfast, or going for a crisp, cold morning walk before eating your Christmas dinner, we all have our own festive traditions. And that’s true for the Royal Family, too. They typically gather at the Sandringham Estate to spend the holidays together but, one year, Kate Middleton shocked the monarchy by turning down an invite.
Nearly two decades ago, before the now-Prince and Princess of Wales were married, the Queen broke tradition by inviting Kate to have lunch with the royals over Christmas. Given that Kate was ‘just William’s girlfriend’ at the time, rather than a fiancée or wife, this was a very out-of-the-ordinary invite. Kate’s decision to decline the invite was even more surprising, though.
“By 2006, the couple had been dating seriously for the best part of five years,” royal historian Robert Lacey writes in his book, Battle of Brothers, of the Christmas snub. “Yet when William invited Kate to join him that year at Sandringham for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas lunch, she refused.”
The author continues: “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.”
Offering insight into Kate’s shocking decision, a royal insider tells RadarOnline: “Kate was intent on establishing her own boundaries.”
“She wanted certainty and a formal commitment before stepping into such a prominent family environment, and she communicated that clearly to William,” the source adds. Another palace insider agrees: “It wasn’t an act of defiance – it was about setting clear boundaries and making sure she was recognised as more than just a girlfriend within the very traditional Royal Family setting.”
All of that is very much in the past, however, and Kate – along with William and their three children – will join the rest of the Royal Family (or, at least, those who have been invited) at the Sandringham Estate for Christmas this year.
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Jade Biggs (she/her) is one of Cosmopolitan UK’s freelance writers, working across all sections including entertainment, beauty, body, and sex and relationships. She previously held the position of Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and the latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. Jade has a degree in journalism and has been a journalist and content editor for ten years, interviewing leading researchers, high-profile influencers, and industry experts in that time. She is a cat mom to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches, and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.