The Prince and Princess of Wales’s priority this Christmas is their children

There was the King and Queen, princes and princesses, a sprinkling of dukes and duchesses, and lords and ladies galore.

As the Royal family gathered for their annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, there was one thing missing.

Not the Duke of York – who had bowed out at the last minute amid the “Chinese spy” scandal, to the relief of some – but the Wales family, who chose instead to spend the day at their home in Norfolk, kicking off their festive break in the countryside early.

The decision says everything about the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the shape of the modern monarchy – the children come first. After a tough year – “brutal”, as the Prince described it – they have swapped the tick-box traditions of the royal calendar for time as a five at home.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have broken up from school, they have nothing official on their plates until the Christmas Day walk to Sandringham and, it appears, decided – why not?

Not for them the photographs taken through car windows as royals both senior and minor drove through the palace gates – instead, more of the wholesome rural life they have embraced this year more than ever.

The decision to skip the Buckingham Palace lunch was made quite some time ago, a source said, with the King told in advance. The family “look forward” to seeing the Windsor clan in Sandringham over Christmas instead.

The decision speaks volumes on two fronts. First, the Princess of Wales’ renewed priorities after her major surgery and chemotherapy this year.

“Above all,” she said in September, it has “reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved”.

Being out in nature, cuddling her children, making memories. The lure of dressing up to brave the cameras and sit for formal lunch with her in-laws is not so strong in the wake of all the Princess has been through.

Second, sadly, is the steady march of time. If William had once expected to have decades ahead of him as the Prince of Wales, his father’s cancer, and the ongoing treatment to keep it at bay, will have been an awakening the likes of which no child wants to experience.

With a lifetime of duty ahead, he is working out for himself how and where to spread his energy.

There are plenty of signs that he is committed to the role of heir to the throne, abandoning domestic plans in order to fly to Paris two weekends ago for the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral and a meeting with Donald Trump, the US president-elect.
But when and where he has a choice, his priority is clear.

Just as the school run tends to come first on week days, so a peaceful childhood for his sons and daughter will always prevail where possible.

A palace lunch, on the face of it, is a small concession to make. It is not what his father or grandmother would have chosen, but there is no one more aware of that than William.

A source said “it’s been an incredibly tough year”, whle the prince himself said: “It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.” Last week, he told a member of the public he had “a lot of things going on”.

On Thursday, the Prince and Princess of Wales released their Christmas card, which shows their happy young family on a Norfolk beach.

Over Christmas itself, they will join a merry band of cousins in Sandringham for the behind-closed-doors catch-up they may need.

The Prince is, he said last week, looking forward to seeing 45 members of his family, spending time with his children and getting out on long walks with the family dog.

Who, in the circumstances, could begrudge them that?