King Charles hosts Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace

King Charles kicks off festivities with his annual pre Christmas Lunch at Buckingham Palace

King Charles arrived at Buckingham Palace today, all smiles as he prepared to host his annual pre-Christmas lunch for the extended Royal Family.

Dressed in a sharp suit and blue tie, the 76-year-old monarch waved cheerfully to tourists gathered outside the palace gates as he made his entrance in the iconic State Bentley, with Sir Clive Alderton, his private secretary, by his side.

The festive mood was slightly tempered, however, by the news that the Prince and Princess of Wales would be notably absent from today’s private gathering.

Looks like this year’s royal lunch will be missing a few key seats at the table, but Charles seems ready to make the most of it!

While King Charles was busy greeting guests at Buckingham Palace, there were a couple of noticeable absences from today’s pre-Christmas lunch.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, it turns out, are already in Norfolk, sticking to their usual plan of celebrating Christmas at Sandringham with the family—so no surprises there!

Another royal who won’t be attending is Prince Andrew. The Duke of York pulled out amid the ongoing controversy surrounding his alleged connections to a Chinese spy.

Though he and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, had both been invited to the annual royal gathering, it’s believed that Fergie advised Andrew to skip the event, possibly to avoid further embarrassing the family.

Looks like Charles can breathe a little easier, with his younger brother keeping a lower profile this year.