Why the Prince and Princess of Wales missed the King's pre-Christmas lunch

The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their children, were absent from King Charles' pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace this year. While members of the royal family attended the event in London on Dec. 19, Prince William, Catherine, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were not in town. After what has been an incredibly tough year, HOLA! USA understands that family wanted to start Christmas in Norfolk earlier that usual. 

The family will be celebrating Christmas at Sandringham this year. While visiting soldiers and their families in Bulford last week, the heir to the throne shared (via PEOPLE), “We’ll be in Norfolk, at Sandringham. We'll be 45 for Christmas. It won't be quiet, it will be noisy."

His Royal Highness also admitted at the time that he was in "no way" ready for Christmas. 

William has said in the past on Radio Marsden that for him, “bringing the family together at Christmastime is always lovely because we’re quite spread out doing our things a lot of time during the year. So, we get very few moments to actually come together.”

“And when I see my children meet up with my cousins’ children, and they all have a wonderful time playing together. It’s very special. I look forward to that a lot. Obviously, Christmas is a new dynamic when you have children. Suddenly it’s a whole different ballgame of noise and excitement,” the Prince added. “I’m enjoying the new version of Christmas in my life.”

The Waleses released their annual Christmas card on Dec. 19. This year's holiday card features a previously seen image of the Wales family that was captured by Will Warr, who filmed the royals back in August for the video that the Princess of Wales used to announce that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment. The message inside of the card reads: "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."