Festive cheer? Bring on George
It is a display of unity and harmony for which Queen Elizabeth will be thankful, after a turbulent year for the House of Windsor.
In a wholesome festive scene, where family woes were temporarily forgotten, Queen Elizabeth was joined by the top three in line to the throne – the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince George – for a cooking session at Buckingham Palace last week, where ‘‘everyone got stuck in,’’ making Christmas puddings for charity.
George, 6, pulled off a Christmas miracle, keeping his white shirt pristine for his greatgrandmother’s annual Christmas family lunch at the palace, which followed their cooking session on Wednesday. In keeping with a royal tradition that is believed to have been introduced by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, all four mixed silver sixpences for good luck into their puddings, which will be distributed next year by the Royal British Legion for its ‘‘Together at Christmas’’ campaign, to combat the loneliness and isolation experienced by some members of the armed forces community.
Prince George’s skill with a wooden spoon will be on display in the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast when footage from the cooking session will be screened on television. It is not known whether the Queen will use the broadcast subtly to address any of the difficulties that the royal family has faced this year.
Prince Harry appeared in October to confirm reports of tensions with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge saying his relationship with William has ‘‘good days and bad days’’ and the brothers are ‘‘certainly on different paths’’. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Cambridges split their households earlier this year. Harry and Meghan are currently in Canada, taking an extended break from public duties.
Prince Andrew was forced last month to quit public duties after a disastrous interview for BBC’s Newsnight about his friendship with the convicted billionaire paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
The Queen may need further cheer at Sandringham this week, where she hopes to be joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, who was admitted to hospital in London on Friday.
Royal sources said Prince Philip, 98, is expected to return to Norfolk for Christmas, after treatment for a ‘‘pre-existing’’ condition as a ‘‘precautionary measure’’.
In keeping with his ‘‘no fuss’’ attitude, sources said the duke was not expecting any members of the royal family to visit him in hospital over the weekend.
– Sunday Times