There's at Least Two More Members of the Royal Family Who Won't Join in Their Traditional Christmas Walk This Year

Fingers crossed for 2025.

King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Eugenie, Peter Philips, Princess Beatrice wearing coats walking to church on Christmas
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Royal Family's traditional Christmas gathering at Sandringham has made more headlines than usual this year amid Prince Andrew's latest scandal. But while it was reported last week that Andrew and the rest of his family wouldn't be coming to Norfolk for the holidays, it seems there's been a change in plans. Princess Beatrice, her husband and their two children will be heading to Sandringham after all—but with a slight change in tradition.

As confirmed by several media outlets, pregnant Princess Beatrice—who was supposed to travel to Italy to spend Christmas with husband Edoardo "Edo" Mapelli Mozzi's family—has been advised by doctors not to travel the long distance for health reasons. She'll now be spending Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family, minus her father and mom Sarah Ferguson, who backed out of the gathering after the Duke of York was connected to suspected "Chinese spy" Yang Tengbo.

Princess Beatrice's 3-year-old daughter, Sienna, and 8-year-old stepson, Wolfie, are also set to join in the celebrations.

However, royal fans excited to get a glimpse at the princess's maternity fashion might be disappointed to hear that they might not get a glimpse of her on Christmas Day. People reported that the princess "likely won’t participate in the walk to church," while according to Hello!, young Sienna will not attend the service.

Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and family walking to church on Christmas Day with crowds watching them

Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi joined Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson for the annual Christmas church walk in 2023.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Beatrice wearing a blue coat and holding flowers

Beatrice, seen on Christmas Day 2023, is now expecting her second child.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As the outlet noted, Prince Louis joined the family at church for the first time when he was four. Princess Charlotte also made her Sandringham walk debut at the same age, so perhaps Sienna will join in next year.

The addition of Beatrice and her family brings the Sandringham guest list to nearly 50 people this year after Prince William recently told guests at a military Christmas party that the royals would welcome 45 people to their Norfolk estate this year.

Buckingham Palace announced Princess Beatrice's second pregnancy on Oct. 1 while sharing some sweet photos of Beatrice and her family in the process. "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together in early spring; a sibling for Wolfie, aged eight, and Sienna, aged three," the statement read.

Here's hoping for a quiet and happy Christmas for the second-time mum-to-be.

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Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.