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Kate Middleton wearing red coat and moving Christmas tree© Getty

Inside Prince William and Princess Kate's festive trip with three children

The Prince and Princess of Wales treated their three children

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
November 19, 2024
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The Prince and Princess of Wales are no doubt preparing for the upcoming festive season, with Kate set to host her annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey on 6 December.

Like many parents, Prince William and Kate are most likely filling up their private diaries with plenty of festive activities, including how to give back to the local community. 

They have also taken their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis out for some Christmas-themed treats in recent years.

The family-of-five enjoyed a day out at Lapland UK in Ascot in December 2022, which features reindeer, a toy factory and a magical forest.

The royals dressed casually for the low-key outing, but were spotted leaving by another visitor at the park.

William wore a padded jacket with blue jeans and flat cap while Kate sported an all-black ensemble under a brown belted coat and a bobble hat.

The children were also seen carrying matching cuddly toys after the event, and their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, even joined them for the festive treat.

The Prince and Princess love to throw themselves into the local community and were spotted picking up their Christmas tree from the Christmas Tree Shop in Berkshire last year, close to their home, Adelaide Cottage, in Windsor.

A source told HELLO! at the time: "It's no surprise that Prince William and his family picked their tree from Windsor Great Park," they explained. "The late Queen always sourced Windsor Castle's Christmas trees there, and King Charles did so last year, too. He is keeping with the family tradition."

William, George, Charlotte, Louis and Kate holding candles at carol service© Getty
William and Kate were joined by George, Charlotte and Louis at the carol concert last year

The Waleses traditionally spend Christmas on the Sandringham estate with the rest of the royals, staying at their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall.

Over the years, Kate has been seen taking her children to the local swimming pool, shopping in the supermarkets and the family have enjoyed pub lunches together at nearby establishments.

William, Kate and their children walked through the annual Luminate festive light trail in the grounds of the Sandringham estate in 2020 – although the visit sparked controversy at the time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

George, Charlotte and Louis attend a Christmas panto in 2020© Getty
George, Charlotte and Louis also went to a Christmas panto in December 2020

The couple appeared to inadvertently break the Rule of Six when the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their kids, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, also attended the woodland walk.

However, a source at Sandringham at the time explained that the two families were given separate consecutive time slots to visit the trail, and arrived and departed in their own family groups.

And while William said at the end of his trip to Cape Town that his children's schooling takes priority over royal duties for now, George, Charlotte and Louis are being gently introduced to their public-facing roles.

LISTEN: What it was like to be on Prince William's trip to Cape Town

In the lead-up to Christmas last year, Kate brought her three children to help out at a baby bank in Windsor, where George, Charlotte and Louis sorted and packed donations.

Watch below...

Co-CEO of The Baby Bank, Lauren Hall, exclusively told HELLO! at the time: "It's the second time that the Princess of Wales has visited us this year. She came I think it was April time previous to that… And she mentioned then that she would like to come back and bring the kids.

"They were really excited to help out, which was lovely… Charlotte seems to quite like organising things and was very keen to do some bags for people of her own age as well as some younger, more baby ones. She was quite keen to do a little clothing pack for a baby.

George, Charlotte and Louis post letters© Getty
George, Charlotte and Louis wrote Christmas cards to vulnerable children

"And then Louis was obviously very enthusiastic. As soon as he saw the toys, [he] was straight over, picking out all the huge animals which was quite entertaining."

The young royals also wrote Christmas cards to send to vulnerable children, posting them in a specially-made postbox at Kate's carol concert last year.

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Kate Middleton smiling wearing blue hat and coat© Getty

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