From Sandringham to Stockholm and Madrid to Monte Carlo, Europe's reigning families lead the way in making the festive season a time of generosity, goodwill and celebration. Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses are at the centre of a whirlwind of charity, carols and events in the run-up to the big day. And, naturally, they mark the season in their own nation’s time-honoured style, celebrating with those they cherish most.
The United Kingdom
In December, King Charles hosts a Christmas lunch for his extended family at Buckingham Palace, just as his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did each year. Like her, he also ensures that every member of his household staff receives a personal gift. According to former butler Grant Harrold, the monarch favours practical items such as cups, saucers and whisky glasses, which can be added to over several seasons to build a handsome set.
The highlight of the Prince and Princess of Wales' festive calendar is the carol concert organised by Catherine at the majestic Westminster Abbey, ahead of Christmas Day. With William and their three children at her side, she welcomes a congregation of 1,600 royals, celebrities and inspirational members of the public to a moving candlelit service.
As Christmas draws near, the King and Queen head to Sandringham House, followed by the Waleses, who stay at their country home, Anmer Hall, on the 20,000-acre private estate. Other guests – including Charles's siblings (with the exception, now, of the King's brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor), nieces and nephews, and Camilla's children – arrive at the "big house" from 23 December, so that by Christmas Eve up to 50 people are gathered. There is no doubt much sharing of happy memories of the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, who gathered the clan at Sandringham for so many years.
When Christmas Eve arrives, there's plenty to do. Today is match day, when the royal family's footballers take on estate workers and local villagers. While Prince Harry once led the charge alongside William, young Prince George now steps into the breach. Princess Charlotte, as enthusiastic about football as her brother, tends to watch from the sidelines – but she may be plotting her own move onto the pitch.
Meanwhile, the youngest Windsors help to put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree and marvel at the presents laid out on a trestle table in the Red Drawing Room. Following the family's German roots, gifts are handed out at teatime on 24 December rather than on Christmas Day. For royals who seemingly have everything, the emphasis is on humour over extravagance: Prince William once gave his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, slippers with her face emblazoned on them, while Princess Anne gifted her barbecuing-loving dad, Prince Philip, a light-up pepper mill for late-night grill sessions.
Once the presents have been unwrapped, the evening segues into a more elegant event. At 8pm the gong sounds for a formal candlelit dinner, for which the men dress in black tie and the ladies in gowns and jewels. After welcoming in the 25th, everyone retires to bed.
When Christmas morning dawns, it's to be hoped that the sun is out – whatever the weather, today means a walk to church. Guests are fortified with a full English breakfast served downstairs, or lighter choices such as toast and grapefruit are brought up to their rooms. Then hats are donned, scarves are tucked, and everyone sets out together for St Mary Magdalene church, on a route lined with well-wishers who've turned out to greet them.
After joining in the Christmas hymns and prayers filling the estate's pretty stone church, the royals head back to Sandringham House. There, they do the same as millions of people across the nation; sit down for a delicious turkey roast with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding. And finally, when the last mouthful has been eaten and the last cracker pulled, they join us in another iconic festive ritual. At 3pm sharp, they turn on the TV and settle down – alongside the man himself – to watch the King's Speech.
During an appearance on Radio Marsden in 2021, the Prince of Wales remarked that "bringing the family together at Christmastime is always lovely because we're quite spread out doing our things a lot of time during the year. So, we get very few moments to actually come together."
"And when I see my children meet up with my cousins' children, and they all have a wonderful time playing together. It's very special," Prince William said. "I look forward to that a lot. Obviously, Christmas is a new dynamic when you have children. Suddenly it's a whole different ballgame of noise and excitement."
The Netherlands
Across the North Sea, the Netherlands takes the prize for getting the holiday season off to an early start, beginning in mid-November when Santa – or Sinterklaas – arrives by boat. In the past, Queen Máxima has greeted him with her three daughters: Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. According to local legend, well-behaved children see their wishes granted, while the naughty risk being sent to Spain in a sack.
The Dutch royal family, like most, has welcomed in many foreign-born members over the centuries, and they've brought some fresh ways with them. Máxima hails from Argentina, so every few years she and her husband, King Willem-Alexander, fit in a visit to her homeland over Christmas, heading to their estate in the mountains of Patagonia.
Leading up to the holiday, RTL Boulevard's Annemarie de Kunder explained to HELLO! that the Dutch "royal family doesn't share anything around Christmas online and their work is just their work, business as usual. We don't see any festivities in these weeks, unfortunately," musing, "I think the reason is that they try to be neutral about any religion. Not to pick sides, so to speak."
However, Annemarie pointed out that "what we do know is that the king and queen and their three daughters spend it together. They have a tradition that they spend it every other year in Argentina, with the family of Maxima and the other year in The Netherlands. It seems that they are going to Argentina this year. They share on Christmas day or the day before their Christmas card online."
Sweden
Sweden may take the prize for the cutest tradition. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel's children, Princess Estelle, 13, and Prince Oscar, nine, have long delighted the public in their annual videos of baking cookies, crafting decorations and singing carols. Last year, with their cousins they joined their grandmother, Queen Silvia, to receive the Christmas trees at the Royal Palace. Since the 1960s, students from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå have been presenting trees to the Royal Palace. In 2025, the youngest member of the royal family, Princess Ines, daughter of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, made her adorable debut participating in the tradition, joining her older brothers, cousins and paternal grandmother in receiving the Christmas trees.
Belgium
Christmas is a period when the Belgian royals, who aren't always home together due to school and training commitments, come together as a family. "For King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, and their four children, Elisabeth, Gabriël, Emmanuel, and Eléonore, Christmas is family time, quality time," Wim Dehandschutter, royal journalist and author of Achter de muren van het paleis (Behind the Walls of the Palace), told HELLO!.
The King records a speech that airs on Christmas Eve, and Philippe and Mathilde also host an annual Christmas concert at the Royal Palace ahead of the holiday.
"How and where exactly they'll spend the holidays is private and kept secret," Wim noted. "King Philippe, and certainly Queen Mathilde, insists that her family live as anonymously as possible. This is the only way their children can develop peacefully as individuals capable of fulfilling public roles. There are several options: at their home in Laeken Castle, at Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes - the reigning king's country retreat, where they often spend weekends and holidays - or abroad. In the past, they've occasionally traveled far away for the holidays; in 2014, for example, they went to India."
"If you think they give each other expensive Christmas gifts... Anything but. We'd imagine fancy gifts, but they're keeping it simple," Wim added. "On Elisabeth's 18th birthday, she received two bags of candy from her brothers and a drawing from her sister, which says it all."
Denmark
When it comes to festive posts on social media, the Danish royals most definitely take the crown. It's become a tradition for the Danish Royal House to release a video of Queen Mary, King Frederik and their children - Crown Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine - decorating their Christmas tree at home. In the past, their ornaments have included figures such as David Bowie and a kangaroo, while in 2025, baubles bearing the names of the king and queen's children were hung on the tree. The Royal House also shares posts to mark each Sunday in Advent, and during Queen Margrethe II's reign, the Royal House would present a digital Advent calendar.
Norway
Norway, meanwhile, stands out for its generosity. Since 1947, the city of Oslo has sent a huge Christmas tree to London's Trafalgar Square as a living symbol of goodwill and peace. Norway is also notable for having perhaps the most picture-perfect royal Christmas venue. The holiday is spent at King Harald V and Queen Sonja's The Royal Lodge, or Kongsseteren – a traditional farmhouse in the snowy hills in Oslo. It dates back to 1906, built to mark the coronation of King Haakon VII and his British-born Queen, Maud. Santa Claus finds it easily, helped in his deliveries by small gnomes known as nisse.
Spain
Further south, Spain offers the sweetest festive celebrations. King Felipe and Queen Letizia's daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, grew up attending their country's huge Christmas processions, where children are showered with candy. Gifts are brought by the Three Kings, rather than Santa, on Twelfth Night, and even those on the naughty list receive carbón dulce (sweet coal).
Pilar Rubines, ¡HOLA! royal expert, shared with HELLO! that the Spanish royals, like other royal families, "emphasise the importance of family and clear their schedules so they can be together, sharing very special lunches and dinners during which gifts are exchanged."
"This usually takes place on Christmas Eve, even in Spain, although the arrival of the Three Wise Men is also widely celebrated at the Zarzuela. Starting with breakfast with Roscón, before presiding over the Military Easter. The alternation on these dates is present in most families, but not in the Zarzuela. The first big change came with the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Asturias. Since then, Christmas Eve has been celebrated with Doña Letizia's maternal family," Pilar added. That is also the same night that the King's Christmas speech airs.
"After spending the most special days with their family, the King and Queen and their daughters, who have increasingly more personal plans, embark on some secret plan, which never transpires," Pilar said. "These are days without a public agenda, between 26 December and 6 January. This is the date on which the Military Easter is celebrated. The heiress will once again accompany the King and Queen to this traditional event and then return to San Javier to resume her training on 8 January. On 25 December, everyone gathers at Queen Sofía's residence for Christmas lunch and the exchange of gifts. It is the big day."
As for what is on the menu? Pilar revealed: "No stuffed turkey or almond soup. At the Zarzuela Palace, Christmas is all about high-quality produce cooked in the simplest way possible. 'They don't like elaborate dishes,' we are told. 'They like plain baked fish, grilled meat, cream of vegetable soup (from the organic garden) and a wide variety of salads.'"
Monaco
In the glamorous Principality of Monaco, Christmas decorations reach Hollywood-worthy levels. Each year, the courtyard of the Prince's Palace of Monaco is transformed into a sparkling winter wonderland – a tradition begun in the 1950s by Princess Grace, the film star-turned-royal, who wanted to welcome underprivileged children to a magical festive party. Today, her son, Prince Albert, continues the tradition, decking the palace with twinkling lights, polar bears and penguins to enchant young guests, while his twins with Princess Charlene, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, help to hand out gifts, keeping the celebrations a joyful family affair.
According to Arlene Prinsloo, author of Charlene: In Search of a Princess, the Princely family spends Christmas Eve at the palace in Monaco. "They get together with close family and first attend a Mass in their private chapel, followed by a fabulous meal - enough is prepared to serve as leftovers for Christmas lunch. When the twins were smaller, they put out milk and biscuits for Father Christmas and hay for his reindeer, but as Jacques and Gabriella just turned eleven this tradition might have changed," Arlene told HELLO!.
"On Christmas morning gifts are exchanged around the Christmas tree with the Princess prepared with an emergency toolkit for electronic and other gifts: scissors to get the gifts out of the plastic wrapping and batteries. And Charlene tries to balance the Christmas excitement and sugar intake of her twins just as other parents around the world do," the author of an unauthorized biography of Princess Charlene continued.
"A winter Christmas with skiing and roaring fireplaces is far removed from the sunny summer Christmases Charlene spent as a child in South Africa. The Princess has always been adamant that she aims to instill in her children an awareness that not all children are as fortunate as they are. So prayers for the less fortunate who didn't receive a gift and those without parents, will definitely be on the agenda."
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