King Charles and Queen Camilla unveil Christmas card after skipping Princess Catherine’s carol concert

Among the 1,600 guests were Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall, but Zara’s mother, Princess Anne, was not present.

The Princess Royal, often referred to as the hardest-working member of the royal family, has just arrived from a low-key four-day visit to Australia.

He attended the state banquet held at Windsor Castle on Wednesday night for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender. Thursday was spent hosting the first appointment ceremony at St James’s Palace in more than four years.

Other notable royal guests include Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto; Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin, Prince Michael of Kent; Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester; and Lord Frederick Windsor.

Princess Catherine’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, were also in attendance, as were her brother James Middleton and his wife, financial analyst Alizée Thevenet. Catherine’s sister Pippa Matthews did not attend.

Charles and Camilla attended only one of the five Christmas carol services Catherine hosted at Westminster Abbey: the 2022 concert dedicated to the late Queen, who died three months ago aged 96.

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, attended none, but his wife Sophie attended all of them.

Considering recent events, it is no surprise that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were not in attendance. The former Duke of York was stripped of his last remaining royal titles on Tuesday and is set to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor in the first quarter of 2026.

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Although his daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, are not royals and do not undertake official duties on behalf of Charles, it is not unusual to see them at such events.

Notably, Beatrice has attended every Christmas concert since Catherine’s first Christmas concert in 2021. This year both he and Eugenie were absent.

“I wish Bea and I could celebrate tonight with our family,” Eugenie wrote on her Instagram Story. He is the only family member who did not attend the meeting to make their absence public.

“Wishing [the Prince and Princess of Wales] A very special evening with an incredible carol service. “What a wonderful message of love and hope.”

Had Beatrice and Eugenie attended, they would have received a letter from Catherine, as did every guest at the ceremony. This year’s note highlighted how a “moment of listening” and a “comforting word” can make a difference in the lives of others.

“At a time when life can sometimes feel fragmented or uncertain, the Christmas season invites us to remember the power of reaching out to each other with generosity, understanding and hope,” Catherine wrote.

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