King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort hosted the extended royal family over a turkey dinner at Windsor Castle today.
Prior to the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, this tradition was upheld by the reigning monarch at Buckingham Palace on the Wednesday before Christmas, ahead of her Sandringham stay for the festive season.
Fresh from his stint in the Australian jungle for I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Mike Tindall and wife Zara (the King's niece) were spotted leaving the Windsor premises in their jeep, with youngsters Mia, Lucas and Lena grinning in the backseat.
Ahead of the lunch, Charles, 74, and Queen Consort Camilla, 75, were photographed in a car, making their way onto Castle grounds.
The head of the family, Charles, wore a simple black suit with a grey tie, while his other half appeared to wear a navy shirt with a black puffer coat on top. Camilla styled her blonde hair down as donned a pair of diamond and pearl earrings for the occasion.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not present at the gathering – they now reside in sunny California – however, the likes of Princess Anne, her husband Tim Laurence, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Lady Louise Windsor all made the trip.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, 40, were both said to be there today, too, with their three children George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and Louis, four.
Just last week, royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively suggested to OK! that this year's celebrations will unravel a little differently, as pockets of The Firm may prefer to make their own Christmas plans.
"While I imagine there will be a gathering at Sandringham, whether it will be quite as extended as it used to be with the Queen, and with quite as many people, I’m not sure," she began.
"Without the linchpin of the Queen holding together an often fractured family, they may suddenly decide to do their own thing.
"It’ll be the first time since all the turmoil following her death that the royals will stop for a moment and, as a family, reflect and raise a glass to her.
"She leaves a massive hole in their lives and that empty seat, once occupied by the Queen, will now presumably be occupied by King Charles," Jennie continued.
"I think the King’s Christmas plans might be up in the air a bit. The younger royals will probably want to spend time with their own families, so I think the two or three-day celebrations of the past may, indeed, be a thing of the past.
"The younger generation might want to do their own thing for at least part of the time. So they may just have Christmas lunch [at Sandringham]."
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