The Cambridges Attend The Queen's Pre-Christmas Luncheon & A Family Christmas Card

The Queen hosted her annual pre-Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. The calendar staple is an opportunity for the family to spend time together before they disperse for Christmas break. The Duchess of Cambridge arrived with Charlotte and Louis. The baby of the Cambridge family is growing so quickly, his hair looks darker since we last saw him. His resemblance to his mum remains unchanged though, the older Louis gets, the more he favours Kate.

I expect the Cambridges will travel to their country home Anmer Hall before the weekend. They will join the royal family at Sandringham once again this year. It's not confirmed, however there's growing speculation we may see George and Charlotte join their parents on the walk to church Christmas morning.

William and George arrived just before Kate, Charlotte and Louis.

The Queen hosts the fifty-strong luncheon on a Tuesday or Wednesday in December for the entire extended family, many of whom are spending Christmas with their own children and grandchildren rather than joining the annual gathering at Sandringham. I imagine the Queen is looking forward to departing for the estate this year. Since Prince Philip's retirement, he spends a great deal of his time on the royal estate in Norfolk. With the Queen's schedule, it means they don't spend as much time together. This year marked Kate's tenth consecutive appearance at the luncheon.

Prince Charles arriving.

Embed from Getty Images

Zara and Mike Tindall (and a scene stealing moment from Mia).

Embed from Getty Images

Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

Embed from Getty Images

Princess Beatrice.

Embed from Getty Images

The Cambridges all left the event together after the traditional meal.

A great shot of the Cambridge children leaving with their parents.

Louis was cute as a button in the Parsnip Fairisle Jumper by Amaia Kids (with thanks to Bojana). It's described as: "Cosy and beautiful forest green unisex cardigan with a stylish Fairisle ivory pattern around the neck, sleeve cuffs and waist. With round collar and crafted from warm cashmere, wool and merino blend, this piece is ideal for the festive season in style or any winter outing of your child. Mother of pearl buttons fastening down the front to finish off a polished both little boy's and girl's outfits."

Caroline Parr identified Charlotte's fabulous festive dress as the Little Alice London Nutcracker dress. We know the Princess adores ballet and last year Kate brought her to the Royal Opera House to watch a rehearsal of The Nutcracker.

Prince George wore a white shirt with blue trim, it looks very similar to the one he wore for Trooping The Colour.

The Duchess was festive in red tartan.

From what we can see, it appears Kate wore Emilia Wickstead's Anni Tartan dress. Due to limited photos, it may be a custom version of the piece (Kate's garment doesn't appear to have the wispy sleeves).

Elizabeth from Kate's Closet suggests it may be a custom blouse, designed to match the Pris Skirt Kate wore for an RAF Christmas party last year.

And accessorised with her Cassandra Goad Cavolfiore Pearl Stud Earrings. By the time they left the luncheon, Kate had removed them.

We also saw the much anticipated Cambridge Christmas card thanks to the RAF Air Cadets. Kate sent a card to Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty who shared it on social media.

The family posed on a vintage motorcycle with a sidecar. Similar to last years card, we see them outdoors in their country home. It was more than likely taken over the summer. It's a darling photo and great to see the tradition of a new family photo continuing. We should see it released via Kensington Palace shortly. I'll update the moment we have a high-res version.

Caroline identified Kate's dress as the sold out Boden Aurora Midi Wrap Dress. The blue print dress is described as: "This wrap midi dress is all about boho luxe, right down to the floaty tiered skirt, three-quarter-length sleeves and crinkle viscose fabric."

Are your plans for the festivities coming together? I'm very much looking forward to spending next week with family and hurriedly doing last minute shopping and wrapping in preparation. It's all part of the fun, right? :)

A Berry Royal Christmas: A Heartwarming Festive Watch

It's nine more sleeps until Christmas! If you're not quite in the festive spirit yet, the perfect tonic for that came in the form of A Berry Royal Christmas which aired on BBC One earlier tonight. The one hour programme saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge team up with the Queen of Baking and national treasure Mary Berry for seasonal fun, visits to charities close to their hearts, and of course the obligatory spot of baking.

The documentary has been uploaded to YouTube (It may not be left up long though).

When the special was confirmed, several outlets reported it would offer Kate's "most substantial" television appearance to date and I very much agree with that. We saw a plethora of quotes, discussion about the children, Kate's early years work and plenty of banter between the couple. It's without doubt the most informal and relaxed we've seen them. William and Kate have met Mary on multiple occasions, particularly through her support of William's patronage Child Bereavement UK (Mary sadly lost her son William when he was 19). Some months ago the Prince asked Mary if she would be interesting in teaming up and A Berry Royal Christmas was born.

The programme opened with footage of Kate and Mary chatting at RHS Wisley about the inspiration behind the project and encouraging children to spend more time outdoors. "Being outside and being in nature is such a great environment for children to learn lifelong skills." Kate told Mary one of Louis' first words was "his version of Mary" because her cookbooks are at his eyeline at home. She added: "He would definitely recognise you if he saw you." Kate talked about growing their own vegetables and how much Louis loves beetroot and Charlotte is particularly fond of 'Charlotte' potatoes.

"Being outside and being in nature is such a great environment for children to learn lifelong skills." — The Duchess of Cambridge on her work in the Early Years sector. #ABerryRoyalChristmas pic.twitter.com/HEFGCrBNhb

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 16, 2019

As Kate and Mary iced cakes, Kate said she believes in the old saying, "it takes a village to raise a child". Parents, grandparents, the community as a whole and many others. The Duchess talked about making birthday cakes for the children. More from Hello!

"I love making the cake," she shared. "It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up till midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much. But I love it."

From there, Mary spent time with William at his patronage the Passage. The homeless charity supports 130,000 people through it's resource centre, homelessness prevention projects and two innovative accommodation services. William first visited the Passage with Diana as a child and became patron earlier this year. During a chat he credited Kate with steering their work towards mental health: "We share ideas, but she was the one who linked all the mental health stuff together. She realised that my work, her work and Harry's work were all headed in different directions, but all dealing with mental health."

"It had a profound impact on me." — The Duke of Cambridge on the visits he made in his youth to the @PassageCharity with his mother Diana, Princess of Wales #ABerryRoyalChristmas pic.twitter.com/LEsgUrbtnU

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 15, 2019

William spoke about the Queen carving her path as a young monarch, Charles' work with the Prince's Trust, and charity visits with Diana which influenced him. People reports:

'The royal dad said that when he drives Prince George and Princess Charlotte to school, they’ll notice people who are homeless on the street and ask questions.

“On the school run – I know it sounds a little bit contrite – but on the school run already, bear in mind 6 and 4, whenever we see someone who is sleeping rough on the street I talk about it and I point it out and I explain,” said William, who is patron of the homelessness charity Centrepoint. “And they are all very interested,” he added. “They are like: ‘Why can’t they go home?’”

William also praised his late mother Princess Diana for immersing him and his brother Prince Harry into the world of those who are less fortunate. Speaking during a visit to The Passage homelessness he told Berry, “It was one of the first places I came to actually. I must have been between 8 and 10, something like that. It had a profound impact on me.”

“My mother knew what she was doing with it. She realized that it was very important when you grow up – especially in the life that we grew up – that you realize that life happens beyond palace walls, and that you see real people struggling with real issues.”

Despite Prince George's enthusiastic cheers supporting Aston Villa, William revealed he is a Chelsea supporter. He revealed George wrote his Christmas list for Santa early: "He's a very good drawer. We might get him something for drawing or football."

Kate invited Mary to visit the Brink, a dry bar run her patronage Action on Addiction in Liverpool. They spoke to a group supported by the charity who openly discussed addiction issues and the journey to recovery. The Duchess talked about how difficult this time of year can be, with Mary opening up about losing her son. Kate added: "One of the things that really struck me was the inter-generational cycle", adding it's so important to include children in the recovery process. The pair made non-alcoholic drinks before departing. Kate shared memories from St Andrews as she served refreshments: "Reminds me of my university days when I did a bit of waitressing." "Were you good?" asked Mary, at which the Duchess laughed and replied: "No, I was terrible!"

Many of you asked about Kate's outfit when the above photo was released. Palace Avenue via Twitter identified it as the sold out Massimo Dutti High Neck Dress.

Mary asked Kate about the impact of working with organisations dealing with issues such as addiction:

"You've taken on so much interesting stories, quite traumatic stories. You have to allow yourself time to reflect and really take in what you've learned before you sort of dive into your own life and get into the school pick ups".

Then it was time for a very special Christmas party at the Rosewood Hotel, celebrating those helping people in need over Christmas and representatives from William and Kate's charities. Nadiya Hussain was crowned winner of the 2015 Great British Bake Off , which mary judged. Nadiya is a lovely lady who has bravely spoken of her own mental health struggles. Following introductions it was time for competition as Kate and Mary went up against William and Nadiya to prepare a roulade. There was a bit of bending the roles on both sides before Mary declared a draw after which Kate turned to William and said: "I think you're going to have to produce one of these at home now."

It's getting competitive in the kitchen...#ABerryRoyalChristmas pic.twitter.com/OrDuFMK23e

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 16, 2019

More from Hello!

'Kate opened up about the couple's home life to Mary Berry during the upcoming Christmas TV special, A Berry Royal Christmas, with Mary asking if the Prince ever cooks for his wife. "He sometimes does actually," Kate revealed. "He's very good at breakfast." The royal then reflected on the early days of her romance with William, when they were both studying together at St Andrews. "In [our] university days he used to cook all sorts of meals," Kate revealed. "I think that was when he was trying to impress me, Mary. Things like Bolognese sauces and things like that."

Joined by the Irish Guards, Child Bereavement UK and volunteers from helpline Shout, they worked on a selection of roulades before sitting down for a chat.

The party concluded with a lovely performance of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' by actor and singer Luke Evans. It was a heartwarming watch and a very timely reminder to remember all those giving up Christmas with their families and friends to look after others. I watched the programme live and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fascinating to go behind-the-scenes with amazing organisations and hear Kate and William's personal takes on their work and of course to hear more about the children. I see requests for a Kate and Mary spin off already :)

To view Mary's recipes from the show, click here to visit the BBC website.

Rebecca English reports the Queen's pre-Christmas luncheon is on Wednesday. We should see arrival photos around lunchtime.

Kate in Navy Velvet McQueen & Sparkling Jewels for Diplomatic Reception

It was a night of regal sparkle at Buckingham Palace for the annual Diplomatic Reception.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for the annual white-tie event at Buckingham Palace. Hosted by Her Majesty, the reception is one of the most glittering events on the royal calendar with tiaras, jewels and royal orders on display.

William and Kate were photographed leaving Kensington Palace shortly after 8 pm. Unlike previous years, there was a screen on the window, which meant the quality of images was greatly impaired. Luckily we didn't have to wait long for photos from inside.

Carole Middleton was spotted arriving to look after the children shortly before they left.

For years we only saw arrival photos of the Duchess offering a brief glimpse of the tiara and colour of the gown. Last year heralded a major change in tradition with a pool photographer invited to cover the event and a number of high-resolution images made available afterwards. Unlike previous generations, there are only a handful of occasions on the calendar where we see the royals in full regalia. For William and Kate, it is State banquets and the Diplomatic Reception, so it's wonderful to get a proper look inside the reception now. The decision to share coverage was very much seen as another sign of Her Majesty passing over responsibilities to Prince Charles.

There are over 170 foreign missions accredited to the court of St James's in London (St James's Palace is still the senior palace and official residence of the sovereign). Each year Her Majesty throws a reception in their honour and members of the Royal family in attendance make a point of meeting with each one.

Guests were welcomed to the palace ballroom. At 36.6m long, 18m wide and 13.5m high, the ballroom is the largest multi-purpose room in Buckingham Palace. It was opened in 1856 with a ball to celebrate the end of the Crimean War. It is used by the Queen for State banquets. Below, William appeared to be having a very interesting conversation with a guest.

Kate was accompanied by private secretary Catherine Quinn.

Her Majesty was regal in a gown by Angela Kelly and the Vladimir tiara with emerald and diamond drop earrings. According to royal jewellery experts the Queen's spectacular emerald necklace is new.

The Duchess of Cornwall wore an elegant cream embroidered Bruce Oldfield gown and the shimmering Boucheron Tiara.

The Duchess of Cambridge looked every inch a future queen in dazzling jewels and an Alexander McQueen navy velvet gown.

The piece features a v neck, structured shoulders and a fitted floor-length silhouette.

Kate's gown appears to be a custom version of the £6,000 Bejeweled Long Sleeve Illusion Gown. Made in Italy, it is described as "a stunning stretch jersey gown with sheer lace panels at the waist and back finished with an opulent jeweled back panel". Kate's piece is navy velvet and doesn't have the sheer panels or back.

It is not the only royal navy velvet gown making headlines today. This morning it was revealed the iconic off-the-shoulder midnight Victor Edelstein evening dress Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta at White House has been purchased by Historic Royal Palaces for £264,000 and will feature in royal exhibitions. It will join a treasure trove of over 10,000 items of historic dress from the 16th century to the present day. Read more about it on the HRP website.

Once again this year Kate selected the Lover's Knot tiara. I know many of you were hoping to see a different one, though I would be surprised if we see Kate's rotation altered from the Lover's Knot and the Lotus Flower tiara until she's Princess of Wales. I've long adored this one, as it was Diana's defining tiara and steeped in royal history. I expect we'll see it throughout Kate's life.

The tiara features elements of the Gothic Revival style. The circle of the Lovers Knot is made up of a lower semi-circular band, set with a row of brilliant cut diamonds. Where two adjacent arches meet, a pillar-like structure is formed that rises up and ends in a round diamond, forming a diamond spike. There are nineteen diamond spikes of this nature and the size gradually decreases from the centre towards both ends.

Readers will recognise Kate's Nizam of Hyderabad necklace which the Duchess was previously loaned for the 2014 Portrait Gala at the National Portrait Gallery.

The dazzling necklace was given to Her Majesty as a wedding gift in 1947 by the Nizam of Hyderabad, then king of a state in India. The Nizam was the owner of one of the most celebrated and largest private jewellery collections in the world. Below we see the Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) wearing it for a portrait by Dorothy Wilding in 1952.

More from Artemisia's Royal Jewels:

'The necklace was purchased from Cartier. Actually, in a way it was acquired by Elizabeth herself; the Nizam wasn't in London at the time and left Cartier instructions that the Princess would personally choose her present. It consists of a long chain of 38 diamonds with a diamond-encrusted strap. The centre of the necklace is pave-set with detachable double-drop pendant 13 emerald-cut diamonds and a pear-shaped drop.'

And dazzling diamond earrings, almost certainly from the royal collection. Emma suggests they are from the Diamond Chandelier Drop Demi-Parure. In recent times, they have been worn by the Countess of Wessex.

Kate also wore a statement ring for the evening.

Kate wore her Royal Family Order, and the riband of a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. It comprises of a blue sash with red and white trim, a cross and star. The Queen bestowed it on Kate to mark her and William's 8th wedding anniversary. It's an enormous honour and awarded in recognition of services to the sovereign.

What do you think of the looks and jewels on display for the night?

A reminder: A Very Berry Christmas airs on BBC One at 8.30 pm Monday night. We'll also see the Queen's pre-Christmas luncheon at some point next week, likely Tuesday or Wednesday.

Patron Kate Enjoys Festive Fun With Family Action

It was an afternoon of festive fun as the Duchess of Cambridge joined a group of children supported by Family Action at Peterley Manor Farm in the village of Great Missenden in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire. 

The Duchess arriving.

The engagement coincided with news the Queen has passed her patronage of Family Action to her granddaughter-in-law after 66 years in the role. The organisation is steeped in family history. Before the Queen became patron, her grandmother Queen Mary officially supported the organisation. It's terrific to see another royal carrying on the tradition. Perhaps someday, long in the future, we'll see one of Kate and William's children working with them.

Family Action, which celebrated 150 years in 2019, supports vulnerable children and families through some 150 local and national services, as well as supporting professionals and organisations through training and consultancy. They currently work directly with over 45,000 families. Kate first visited the charity in 2017 and again in January to launch their new national support line. At the time, I noted it would make a great future patronage. I imagine the handover has been in the planning for some time.

In a statement, Kensington Palace said: "The Duchess of Cambridge has spent much of the last eight years meeting charities and organisations who work every day to make our families and communities stronger. There is a powerful correlation between a parent or carer’s wellbeing and their child’s development, which is why organisations such as Family Action that provide support are instrumental to a child’s future. This new patronage aligns with Her Royal Highness’ longstanding work on the early years, and the importance of supporting children and families during this seminal period of their lives."

Chair of trustees at Family Action Mary Fallon said:

'On behalf of the Board of Trustees and everyone at Family Action, I am delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge will become Royal Patron of Family Action in our 150th Anniversary year. The Duchess will assume the Royal Patronage of the charity from Her Majesty The Queen who has held the role for 66 years, having assumed the role in turn from Queen Mary in 1953.

We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Her Majesty for her steadfast and dedicated support for the work of the Charity over so many years. Family Action was founded in 1869 to help disadvantaged families in difficulty to move forward by giving them practical help and support.

Today, Family Action continues to tackle difficult issues facing families – including financial hardship, mental health and emotional wellbeing, social isolation, parenting challenges, domestic abuse, and substance misuse. These issues can have a huge impact on the stability of family life as well as on the health and wellbeing of all family members.

We are honoured that The Duchess has chosen to support Family Action’s work by becoming our Royal Patron. Her keen interest particularly in the Early Years fits well with Family Action’s provision of high quality perinatal mental health services, pre-schools and Children’s Centres across the country. Family Action looks forward to working with The Duchess in the years to come.'

There is an excellent timeline of events charting the history of the organisation here. There's also a YouTube video available here, with experts and speakers chronicling the issues which brought about the organisation and its role today.

During the visit Kate helped the children pick out Christmas trees for their schools.

Joined by an eager group of little helpers, it was time to get to work.

Kate asked them to choose their favourites. This one got a thumbs up from Kate.

Kate was very much in the spirit of it and started carrying the trees out. Simon Perry said Peterley Manor Farm owner Roger Brill joked "I will have to give her job at the weekend".

Hello Magazine shared more from the engagement:

'It was while she was in an Elf Workshop with several children, that little Freddie leant in to get his photo taken by a photographer, who had just joined them. Kate couldn't help but giggle as she chatted away to the children, asking them what they wanted for Christmas. When one little'un responded that he wanted a dinosaur, she sweetly asked: "Which one, a diplodocus or a T-rex?"

Kate then spoke with another three children about Christmas, asking: "How tall is your Christmas tree?" Hilariously, one child threw his hands above his head to demonstrate just how tall his tree was. Moving outside, the children pretended to feed wooden reindeers and Kate helped them put ribbons on the Christmas trees that they liked most.'

The group spent time in the "Elves Enchanted Forest" making decorations and hot chocolates.

Time for Reindeer Food making.

Roya Nikkhah reports Kate told the children George "loves thistles", adding they have a Nordmann Fir non-drop Christmas tree at Anmer Hall. She also said Louis "wants to go everywhere" with her. Roya said the Duchess spoke to parents separately about pressures at this time of year "Maybe instead of posting on social media about who has the bigger presents, tell people about the real meaning of Christmas instead."

Kate also revealed that Prince George “loves thistles”, Prince Louis “wants to come everywhere with me,” and the Cambridges have a Nordmann Fir non-drop Christmas tree at home, so no pesky pine needles at Anmer Hall pic.twitter.com/Ugyr2AVmgj

— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) December 4, 2019

People reports:

'David Holmes, the chief executive of Family Action and a member of the Early Years steering group set up by Kate to advise on way forwards in the sector, told PEOPLE that Kate was “lovely” during Wednesday’s outing.

“I have worked with her on the early years for some time,” he says. “But she is fantastic with children and is also really interested in the issues — she’s really interested in families and parenting, and it really shines through everything she does.”

Holmes noted that Kate has brought her own experience as a mother of three to her work. “Everyone who’s a parent has their own experience, but equally it’s about understanding that other peoples’ experience is different and that parenting experience changes daily,” he notes. “And it’s that understanding about what it takes to be a parent.”

After finishing their letters to Father Christmas, Kate helped post them to the North Pole :)

">

Time to scout out the perfect trees for @family_action pre-schools, before heading back inside for hot chocolate! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/xz1kOGOqwU

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 4, 2019

The Duchess was festive in a casual red and green outfit for the visit.

Kate brought back her Perfect Moment Mini Duvet Quilted Ski Jacket. The $450 jacket is cut from mid-weight durable Airtastic EX shell, it's padded with insulating down, has a protective high neck and is finished with soft ribbed cuffs to lock in warmth. It features distinctive navy elbow patches.

Kate first wore the jacket for a Heads Together run in 2017.

It appears Kate's emerald green ribbed crew neck jumper is by Really Wild Clothing (with thanks to Pop Golightly).

Kate accessorised with a pair of hoop earrings.

And wore her Berghaus Supalite Gortex boots with forest green boot socks.

The Duchess also wore a pair of skinny jeans. It looked like a fabulous visit for all involved and a splendid new addition to Kate's patronages.

Kate was not the only Middleton lady focused on Christmas trees today. Party Pieces shared a photo of Carole dressing the office tree with the caption "Working next door to a Christmas Tree farm means we had the pick of the best Xmas trees!"

We'll see Kate next Wednesday night for the (tiara filled) Diplomatic Reception.