Prince William & Kate Middleton Share Sweet Christmas Card As They Prepare For Holiday At Sandringham

Prince William and Kate Middleton have shared their Christmas card featuring their family in Norfolk.

The card's release followed news that the family would not attend the Buckingham Palace pre-Christmas lunch but would celebrate at Sandringham.

Prince William also described the past year as "brutal" due to family health challenges, especially Kate Middleton's cancer battle.

The Prince and Princess of Wales recently shared their Christmas card on social media, featuring a heartwarming photograph.

The photo shows the couple with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, a location that holds special meaning for the family.

The image, which was taken from a video released by Kate in September, also pays tribute to Anmer Hall, the family's private residence, which became a sanctuary for the princess as she recovered from her treatment earlier this year.

The card's interior message offered warm wishes: "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."

The caption on the post on social media read, "Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas."

William and Kate's card unveiling came hours after it was revealed that the family would not attend the traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, William and Kate will celebrate the holiday with other members of the Royal Family at the Sandringham estate, continuing a long-standing tradition.

Kate, who has been easing back into public life after announcing in September that she had completed her cancer treatment, was last seen with her family at Westminster Abbey on December 6 for her "Together at Christmas" carol service.

A few days later, during a visit to Picton Barracks in Wiltshire, William shared that he was looking forward to the holiday but was "not ready" for Christmas yet.

According to the Daily Mail, he mentioned that the family would celebrate at Sandringham with 45 relatives all gathered in one room instead of the usual spread-out arrangements.

In a candid interview during his trip to South Africa last month, William reflected on his family's challenging year, describing it as "brutal."

When asked about how the year had been, William admitted, "Honestly, it's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."

He added: "But I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal."

In September, Kate shared a deeply personal video with her family to announce her return to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

The video featured touching scenes of the Waleses and their children enjoying the outdoors while Kate reflected on her cancer journey. She shared that her current focus is on "doing what I can to stay cancer-free."

Looking back on the past nine months, which were marked by her health struggles, Kate described the experience as "incredibly tough for us as a family."

She acknowledged the complexity, fear, and unpredictability of the cancer journey, explaining how it has given her a "new perspective on everything."

According to royal expert Grant Harrold, Kate might reach out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this Christmas season, possibly even having a FaceTime call with them.

He continued, "I believe that Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan and wish them a Happy Christmas and I think Harry and Meghan themselves will possibly reach out."

"The thing about Christmas is that it's all about goodwill to others, letting bygones be bygones, forgetting the past, moving into the New Year," Harrold added, per GB News. "So if there's any point in the year that the families are going to communicate or touch base, it's going to be over Christmas – there's something magical about Christmas that gets families back together."

He concluded, "I'd like to think that they will all be communicating, whether that is done by text calls or FaceTime - I'd like to think FaceTime, but that's something we will never know."