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King Charles' unusual Christmas dinner guests that were not invited this year
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King Charles' unusual Christmas dinner guests that were not invited this year
King Charles in red with christmas dinner backdrop© Getty

King Charles' unusual Christmas dinner guests that did not attend this year

The Prince and Princess of Wales were among the royals at Sandringham this Christmas  

Katie Daly
Lifestyle Writer
12 hours ago
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King Charles hosted Christmas Day at Sandringham earlier this week with members of the royal family celebrating in all their finery.

However, this year, there was a set of Christmas dinner guests who did not make an appearance, and it is not who royal fans might expect.

Recommended videoYou may also likeWATCH: Christmas Day with the royal family at Sandringham

Former royal chef Darren McGrady previously revealed to the Mail on Sunday that when he worked in the royal kitchen, even the late Queen's corgis were fed Christmas dinner.

Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh relaxing with their corgis and newspapers at Balmoral in 1975© Getty
Queen Elizabeth fed her corgis Christmas dinner

Queen Elizabeth's canine companions dined on rabbit, beef or chicken served with cabbage and rice to mark the special occasion. At this time, 12 corgis were in the Queen's possession.

queen with pet corgi © Getty
The late monarch adored her corgis

After King Charles' mother passed away in 2022, the late monarch's remaining two corgis went to live with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson who were not in attendance at Sandringham for Christmas this year.

The Duchess of York now looks after the late Queen's Corgis at Royal Lodge
The Duchess of York now looks after the late Queen's Corgis at Royal Lodge

As a result, royal fans can assume that the corgis were also not present at Christmas dinner at Sandringham this year as they were during the Queen's lifetime.

Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York with Queen corgis Muick and Sandy © Instagram
Sarah Ferguson and the corgis did not go to Sandringham

Where were the Duke and Duchess of York this Christmas?

The disgraced younger brother of the King stepped back from his royal duties in 2019 due to his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York (L), Sarah, Duchess of York (2L) Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (2R) and Britain's Princess Beatrice of York (R) arrive for the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in eastern England© ADRIAN DENNIS
Andrew has been seen at Christmas since stepping down from royal duties

However, the Duke of York has made a handful of public appearances since, including the annual Christmas Day church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate and at the funeral of the late Queen.

Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service © Getty
Prince Andrew was not at Sandringham this year

The father of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie did not make an appearance at Sandringham this year after making headlines amid his connections to an alleged Chinese spy.

Sarah has been supporting Prince Andrew© Getty
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew stayed away

Instead, Sarah and Andrew spent Christmas at Royal Lodge in Windsor. 

Absent royals

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in coats walking© Getty
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank did not attend the Christmas Day Church service this year

Also not present at Sandringham for Christmas this year were Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their sons August and Ernest. The Princess of York spent the festive season with her in-laws for the first time since 2021.

kate with Prince Harry and Meghan walking down path© Getty
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan spent Christmas in the US

DISCOVER: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie pictured after pulling out of family Christmas 

Also absent from the celebrations in Norfolk were King Charles' son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. Since stepping back from their senior royal duties in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spent the holiday season with their children in California.

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