In October, Buckingham Palace announced that Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, were expecting another child this spring. Though originally the couple and their two children, Sienna Elizabeth and Christopher Woolf, were planning to spend the Christmas holidays with Edoardo’s family in Italy, they have decided to visit Sandringham, the royal family’s country estate in Norfolk, for the holidays instead, The Independent reports, following medical advice not to travel long distances.
During an engagement earlier this month, Prince William said that about 45 family members will be around the table on Christmas day at Sandringham, but the guest list doesn’t include the rest of Beatrice’s immediate family. Beatrice’s sister, Princess Eugenie, is reportedly planning to spend the holiday with the family of her husband, Jack Brooksbank. The princesses’ parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, backed out of the family gathering last week, after the prince’s connection to an alleged Chinese spy became media fodder.
On Thursday, Eugenie and Jack joined King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and a handful of other Windsors at the annual Christmas luncheon, but William and his wife Kate Middleton did not attend, reportedly having headed to the countryside at the beginning of their children’s holiday breaks. Following the luncheon, the king and queen also left the city, and on Sunday, Charles was spotted walking to church on his own.
On Christmas morning, the king will be leading the family on their normal procession to church on Christmas Day, and his annual televised Christmas address will air on TV that evening. According to The Telegraph, this year’s address was filmed in a hospital chapel a few weeks ago, and the text of the speech will discuss the royal family’s year of health challenges, including his and his daughter-in-law’s cancer diagnoses. A royal source told the newspaper that the change from the usual filming locations of Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle was the idea of the king, and reflected his desire to “reach out into communities rather than bringing them into him.”
The source also provided details about the religious significance of the choice to film in a chapel. “It is also a non-denominational chapel, which of course, is a key focus,” they added. “Even though this is a Christmas address, His Majesty likes to reach out to those of all faiths and none.”
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The post Princess Beatrice Is Scrapping Italian Christmas With Her In-Laws Due to Pregnancy appeared first on Vanity Fair.
