© 2026 ABC News

This Christmas will be the family's first without Prince Philip, who died at age 99 in April.

In past years, he and Elizabeth, who were married for 73 years, oversaw the family's multi-day Christmas celebration at Sandringham.

Buckingham Palace has not yet announced where the queen will spend this Christmas and whether she will be joined by any members of the royal family.

The family traditionally holds their gift exchange on Christmas Eve, following the German tradition, where they often swap funny or homemade gifts.

On Christmas Day, they walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church for the Christmas service.

\"PHOTO:
Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP
PHOTO: Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge meet children as they depart the Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London, Dec. 8, 2021.
>

After the service, the royals enjoy a Christmas lunch at Sandringham and then gather to watch Queen Elizabeth II deliver her annual Christmas message.

In the evening, the royal family will get together again for a Christmas buffet dinner with 15 to 20 different delicacies prepared by the queen's chef.

On the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day in the U.K., the royals traditionally partake in a pheasant shoot on the grounds of Sandringham.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/royals-holiday-spirit-christmas-carols-concert-hosted-duchess/story?id=81516906","legacySlug":"/culture/story/royals-holiday-spirit-christmas-carols-concert-hosted-duchess-81516906","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"17:09","publishDate":"12-08-2021","updatedTime":"01:28","updatedDate":"12-09-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at the \"Together at Christmas\" community carol service held at Westminster Abbey in London, Dec. 8, 2021.","credit":"Peter Nicholls/Reuters","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/royals-xmas-2-rt-ps-2111208_1638991167232_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"12/8/2021 17:09:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":81516906,"headline":"William, Kate join Christmas carols service","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Royals step out for Christmas carols_211208","description":"Duchess Kate hosted the community carol service at Westminster Abbey.","duration":"0:59","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/12/211208_gma_digital_royals_christmas_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["81261679","80634270","71309276"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"November 18, 2021","headline":"Duchess Kate switches up her hairstyle for a night out","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/duchess-kate-switches-hairstyle-night-81261679","id":81261679,"image":{"alt":"Duchess Kate switches up her hairstyle for a night out","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/william-middleton-gty-rc-211119_1637269084298_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Chris Jackson/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 17, 2021","headline":"Duchess Kate recycles Alexander McQueen gown for Earthshot Prize Awards green carpet","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/duchess-kate-recycles-alexander-mcqueen-gown-earthshot-prize-80634270","id":80634270,"image":{"alt":"Duchess Kate recycles Alexander McQueen gown for Earthshot Prize Awards green carpet","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/duke-duchess-cambridge-earthshot-awards-01-gty-jef-211017_1634502246964_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alberto Pezzali/Wpa Pool/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 21, 2024","headline":"Our favorite Prince William moments for his birthday ","section":"culture","slug":"/video/71309276","id":71309276,"image":{"alt":"Our favorite Prince William moments for his birthday ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/240621_gma_digital_princewilliam_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"William, Kate join Christmas carols service","description":"Duchess Kate hosted the community carol service at Westminster Abbey.","duration":"0:59","uploadDate":"12-08-2021","publication":"12-08-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/12/211208_gma_digital_royals_christmas_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/12/211208_gma_digital_royals_christmas_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/royals-holiday-spirit-christmas-carols-concert-hosted-duchess-81516906"}},"playlist":[{"id":"134041491","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134033809","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"78356537","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133929295","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133958398","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133882828","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"William, Kate join Christmas carols service","pubTime":"12:09","pubDate":"12-08-2021","modTime":"20:28","modDate":"12-08-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":81516906,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"William, Kate join Christmas carols service","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Royals step out for Christmas carols_211208","videoId":81516906,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/royals-holiday-spirit-christmas-carols-concert-hosted-duchess-81516906"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/81516906","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/81516906","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};