Prince Andrew finds 'perfect reason' to avoid Christmas celebrations with Royal Family yet 'refuses to make life easier'
It's almost time for King Charles to open the doors of Sandringham house to his loved ones for another year, with the royal family spending the festive period at the Norfolk home for over 160 years. Not a small affair, the house is known to welcome the wider family in, with Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie usually joining.
However, Andrew has the 'perfect excuse' not to attend this Christmas day, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond tells OK!. With Eugenie and Beatrice both married and doting mothers, Jennie says it could be too full a house. "As families expand, life gets more complicated. And the Yorks now have two sons-in-law and four grandchildren to consider. So it is beginning to become untenable to have the whole extended royal family under one roof at Sandringham…especially with Camilla’s family to consider as well," said Jennie.
Eugenie shares two sons, August and Ernest, with her husband Jack Brooksbank, whom she married in 2018. While Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are currently expecting their second child together. The pair already have a daughter Sienna, born in 2021, and Edoardo has an eight-year-old son Christopher Woolf, from his previous relationship.
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Confirming he will certainly get an invite, as usual, Jennie continued: "However, it seems that Andrew remains keen on the traditional royal Christmas and, even after all the controversy over Royal Lodge, he and Sarah will almost certainly be invited to share the King and Queen’s celebrations. They don’t, however, usually stay in the main house but at Wood Farm nearby, where they can do their own family thing if they want. Charles is not a vindictive man…far from it…and whatever has gone on between the brothers, I think he will always extend an invitation for Andrew and his family to share big family occasions.
"But Andrew’s own growing family will give him and Sarah the perfect reason to avoid Sandringham and surround themselves with their daughters and little one. Beatrice and Eugenie are very protective of both their parents".
Speculating that the prince doesn't do himself any favours when it comes to an easy life and would be better off swapping Sandringham for home, Jennie added: "And you can’t help but think that life would be easier all round if the Yorks began to stage their own festivities at Christmas."
Christmas at Sandringham is a tradition embedded into royal life, with royal expert Duncan Larcombe recently sharing: “Christmas at Sandringham has been absolutely central to the family for years, and that legacy looks certain to continue with Charles."
"The estate has more of a country house feel than other royal residences, and it reflects the family’s love of the great outdoors.” Queen Victoria bought the 20,000-acre estate for £22,000 in 1862. When the pandemic struck in 2020 it prevented Queen Elizabeth II hosting Christmas there for the first time in 32 years.
“Sandringham had a very special place in the Queen’s heart,” Duncan adds. “It was where her father George VI passed away in 1952, which always gave it extra meaning for her.”
