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Christmas is here, so royals have been decking the halls of their homes with Christmas trees and decorations and sending out their cards. We've rounded up our favorites.
Norwegian Royals The royal family posted this family portrait to their Instagram page on December 19 in the run-up to the holidays. The snap, taken alongside the Christmas tree in the Red Lounge at the Palace, features King Harald and Queen Sonja, seated center, with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit standing. Also included are the crown couple's children, Princess Ingrid and Prince Sverre Magnus. Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship, 20-year-old Marius Borg Hoiby, is not pictured. Photo: Instagram/@detnorskekongehus, Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen, Royal Court
Crown Prince Haakon's mother has decked the halls of Queen Sonja KunstStall in Oslo. The monarch showed of her regal Christmas tree that features red and gold decorations located at the art stables of the royal palace. Photo: Jan Haug, Det kongelige hoff via Instagram/dekongeligesamlinger
Jordanian Royals The Jordanian royal family will be celebrating the New Year in style as the heir to the throne Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II starts 2018 as a Commissioned Officer. His Royal Highness graduated earlier this year at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst’s Sovereign's Parade – and to celebrate the special occasion, the family have broken with tradition. The Hashmite New Year card which was sent to HELLO! shows three Royals as Military Academy of Sandhurst graduates: the late King Hussein bin Talal (1952), the actual King Abdullah II (1981) and the Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II (2017). It is the first time in years that the New Year's card does not show the Royal Family, with Queen Rania and her other daughters and son.
British Royals Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla wrote in their holiday card, "Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year in their 2017." The picture on the card was taken by Hugo Burnand during the Duchess' private 70th birthday party of at Highgrove in July. Photo: Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty Images
The halls of Buckingham Palace have officially been decked! The royal family shared a first look at the holiday decorations inside of Queen Elizabeth’s London residence on Tuesday, December 12. “Christmas has arrived at Buckingham Palace! ,” the palace announced with the video, while also sharing a fun fact that the Christmas tree was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Fast-forward to present day, over 200 years later, and the halls of Buckingham Palace and its grand entrance are hosts to various Christmas trees that have been decorated — fittingly — with several crowns! No doubt Prince George and Princess Charlotte with revel in the regal holiday decor at their great-grandmother's annual Christmas lunch, which Her Majesty hosts before making her way to Sandringham for the holiday. Photo: The Royal Family
On December 18, Prince William and Kate Middleton released an official Christmas photo with their two adorable children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The beautiful family photo was shared on Kensington Palace's official Twitter account, and the caption read: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to share a new photograph of their family. The image features on Their Royal Highnesses' Christmas card this year. The photograph was taken earlier this year by @ChrisJack_Getty at Kensington Palace." Photo: Getty Images
Clarence House had some special little helpers on hand to add the perfect finishing touches to Prince Charles and Camilla's Christmas tree! The Duchess of Cornwall invited a group of children from Helen & Douglas House and Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity to her London home on December 13, where they helped decorate the royal Christmas tree before enjoying tea together. Prince Charles' wife was delighted to have her special visitors. She said, "Today is the start of Christmas. It is such a joy to meet all of you. I hope the children have enjoyed themselves as much as I have." Photo: Twitter/@clarenceHouse
Swedish Royals Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden had two special elves help welcome Stockholm Royal Palace’s Christmas trees on Thursday, December 14. The future Queen was joined by her young children — Princess Estelle, five, and Prince Oscar, one. The engagement marked Oscar's first time participating in the holiday tradition. Estelle, who helped her mother accept multiple trees last year, first participated in the Swedish tradition in 2013 when she was also one-years-old. Victoria and her children received Christmas trees from students at the master's program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The university has presented Christmas trees to the royal palace since the late 1960s. Oscar adorably shook hands with one of the students, while inspecting trees with his mom and sister. The 40-year-old royal and her kids looked festive for the engagement. Victoria donned a vibrant red full skirt, black top and black coat. Estelle coordinated with her mother wearing a red dress and matching hair bow, along with a black coat, white tights and Mary Janes. Meanwhile little Oscar looked sharp in a button down shirt, vest and trousers. Photo: Kungahuset.se
Greek Royals The halls are decked at the Crown Prince family of Greece's home! Princess Olympia's mother Crown Princess Marie-Chantal shared a snapshot of her decorations. Alongside the photo, the designer wrote: "Our Tree is up ." Photo: Instagram/@mariechantal22
Amalienborg Palace Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent did an excellent job decorating their family’s Christmas tree at their home of Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Crown Princess Mary snapped a photo of the tree, which was shared on the royal family’s Instagram account and captioned: “Crown Prince family's finely decorated Christmas tree.” Photo: HKH Crown Princess ©
Monaco Royals Three days after celebrating her twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella's third birthday, Princess Charlene shared an adorable Christmas photo of her children. The siblings, who turned three on December 10, looked all grown up in the new picture posted on Her Serene Highness' Instagram on Wednesday, December 13. Gabriella donned a red velvet dress and matching hair bow for the photo session, while her brother wore a crisp white shirt and olive-colored velvet pants. Alongside the photo of the siblings sitting in front of a Christmas tree, a message read: "It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella December 2017." Photo: Vanessa Von Zitzewitz via Instagram/ @hshprincesscharlene
Spanish Royals King Felipe VI Queen Letizia and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía star in this year’s holiday card, which was released by Zarzuela Palace on Monday, December 11. “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018,” the holiday message read in English and Spanish along with the four royals’ handwritten signatures signed below. The family looked picture perfect for the photo. The portrait was taken in October during Spain’s National Day (October 12) celebrations in Madrid. At the time, the royal family showed a united front despite political turmoil in the country. The festivities also included a special memory for the victims of the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks. Photo: Photo: © Casa de S.M. el Rey