King Charles hosted a festive Christmas at Sandringham this year, continuing the royal family’s cherished holiday tradition. However, some notable absentees stood out during the celebrations, including a set of unusual guests from the late Queen Elizabeth II’s era—her beloved corgis.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady once revealed that during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, her canine companions received their own Christmas dinner featuring rabbit, beef, or chicken served with cabbage and rice. At one point, the Queen had as many as 12 corgis.
Following the Queen’s passing in 2022, her remaining two corgis were entrusted to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who were also absent from this year’s Sandringham festivities. As a result, royal fans can assume the corgis were not part of the Christmas celebrations for the first time in decades.
Instead of joining the royal family at Sandringham, Andrew and Sarah spent Christmas at Royal Lodge in Windsor. Andrew, who stepped back from royal duties in 2019 due to his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has made limited public appearances since, including the Queen’s funeral and previous Christmas Day church services.
Other notable absences this year included Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their children August and Ernest. The family chose to spend the holidays with Jack’s relatives, marking their first Christmas away from Sandringham since 2021.
Despite the absences, King Charles upheld the family’s traditional celebrations, adapting to changes in the royal circle while hosting the festivities in a manner befitting the holiday season.
