Christmas at Sandringham, where the British royal family traditionally celebrates Christmas, was first celebrated eight months after her marriage to Prince William in 2011.

However, anyone familiar with William and Kate's history knows that by Christmas 2011, the two had been together for over a decade and had been romantically involved for most of that time.

According to the Daily Express, William invited Kate to the festivities as far back as 2006. In her book "The Palace Papers," Tina Brown writes, "Before graduating (from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst), William had extended a coveted invitation to his girlfriend to attend the Queen's annual Christmas house party at Sandringham." He wrote. Kate, wearing a Philip Treacy hat and in a confident mood, was determined not to go to such an important royal family gathering unless she had a ring on her finger. She refused. William accepted her decision in silence."

Instead, the then 24-year-old "retreated to Scotland to stay with her parents, who had rented a house in Perthshire for the vacations."

She was "a very happy woman.

Moreover, that same year, Kate turned down an invitation from the late Queen to celebrate Christmas with her at a traditional Christmas lunch. However, as with William's invitation, Lacey writes that Kate declined, saying that she would only go to Sandringham on Christmas Day if she was "engaged and had a ring to prove it."

It would be another five years before Kate would finally join the royal family at Sandringham, but we love this confidence in the future princess. William and Kate briefly separated in 2007, but reunited within a few months and then became engaged in 2010; of her first Christmas at Sandringham in 2011, Kate said in the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at 90 I remember the first time I went to Sandringham for Christmas. I was wondering what to give the Queen for her Christmas present. What should I give her? I thought, 'I'll make something. But I might have messed it up terribly. But I decided to make my grandmother's recipe for chutney. I was a little worried, but the next day I found myself at the table. Grandma did that many times, and I think it shows how thoughtful she was and how much she cared about taking care of everyone."

With the exception of 2020 and 2021, when the Christmas festivities at Sandringham were cancelled due to the pandemic, William and Kate have spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Royal Family at Sandringham. from 2011 to 2016, the couple alternated spending Christmas with the Royal Family and with Kate's family, the Middletons of Berkshire. Royal family expert Katie Nicole told OK that Kate's decision to spend Christmas at Sandringham rather than with her own family is a "sacrifice" because "Christmas is so big for the Middleton family."

Nicole added, "But they put the Queen first and try to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Sandringham," saying that the Crown Prince and Princess "put duty before themselves and we can see that more than ever."

This Christmas was, of course, the first for the royal family without their beloved patriarch, who died this past September at age 96.