Well, Merry Christmas to all! We celebrated Christmas with my in-laws in California, so I have been checked out the last few days as we visited with them. I saw a quick picture of Kate on Christmas morning but am only now able to really sit down and digest all the photos.
There is no doubt that Christmas at Sandringham is a highlight of the royal calendar, and it isn’t hard to see why. We get to see the royal family out on one of the most family centered days of the year. It is a unique morning mixing their private and public lives, and it often gives sweet and/or interesting insight into private family dynamics.
Several people noted that multiple members of the family were wearing matching scarves. According to WKW, the scarf is the Highgrove Heritage scarf in fine merino wool (retail £115). So it seems King Charles probably gave these as gifts. Repping his own brand (clap, clap).
This year, we saw a number of sweet moments between the Wales family and the Tindalls. It has been clear for a while that the two families are close, but I suspect that intimacy has only grown since Harry left the fold. This is another exmample of Harry cutting off his nose to spite his face. While he has isolated himself from family of any kind, William’s children still have aunts, uncles, and close cousins.
The Wales/Tindall alliance is not a new one, but it has been on a little more outward display this year. As you recall, William and Kate joined Princess Anne and Mike Tindall on Mike’s rugby podcast in September. Then, just in the last several weeks, on another podcast, Mike Tindall joked that he calls William “One Pint Willy,” because—according to Mike—the Prince of Wales is something of a light weight when it comes to alcohol (actually, wasn’t there a story years ago during the dating days that Kate could outdrink William? I remember thinking it did not seem very probable…but maybe it was accurate!). Their bond is clearly warm and strong.
Everyone was also most interested to see Sarah Ferguson (wearing Holland Cooper) return to the royal fold. The Daily Mail ran an article that had me chuckling: something like, Sarah Ferguson’s first Sandringham Christmas in 32 years as she is granted a Windsor funeral. Just an odd bundle—Christmas and death! You’d think they’d do separate headlines.
I don’t know what Charles’ relationship with the Duchess of York is; perhaps they were always special buddies. But I think this is probably an acknowledgment of his affection for his brother and his nieces. To me, this photo below sums it up: As Fergie heads to greet a few more people, you can see Princess Beatrice in the background watching and smiling. It must be nice for the York girls to have their mother with them and happy on Christmas morning.
Kate the Great did not disappoint in the fashion arena. She debuted a new hat and coat, but both pieces were repeated templates in a new color way. Kate has this bespoke McQueen coat in green, which she wore while in Boston last year.
She has this hat by Juliette Botterill in black, which she wore to the St. David’s Day parade. I had hoped for a broad brimmed hat, but I am actually just as happy with this one. Of all her smaller hats, this is one of my favorites, and it reminds me so much of the Whiteley structured beret, which might be my favorite Kate hat ever.
I was also very happy to see the sapphire earrings. They were not the Kiki McDonoughs I had wished for, but these are obviously substantial pieces, and that worked for me. A break from her cheaper pieces was really nice, especially for Christmas. I also loved that Kate had her with braids like Charlotte’s. Mommy/daughter hairstyling happened Christmas morning.
For me, Kate’s entire ensemble was a big success. Blue is a beautiful color on her, and all the pieces of this ensemble were gorgeous—from her hat to her cozy suede boots. I am crossing my fingers that we will see the Waleses and the Middletons at St. Mary Magdalene this Sunday to close out 2023 and get our new year off to a smashing start.
I know that Charlotte loved having Mommy and me hair! It looked great on both of them.
I think that maybe Sarah's breast cancer has been a wake up call to not be so cruel towards her.