Prince William and Kate Middleton release poignant Christmas card after the ‘hardest year’ as they pose with George, Charlotte and Louis at their beloved Norfolk retreat where Princess recovered from cancer

The Prince and Princess of Wales today released their Christmas card on social media, featuring a photo of the couple with their three children in Norfolk.

The card was posted online at 2pm, three hours after it emerged that the family would not attend the royal family’s traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace today.

Prince William and Kate are instead said to be looking forward to spending time with members of the royal family at the Sandringham estate as usual over Christmas.

The card image shows William and Kate in Norfolk, where Anmer Hall became a safe haven for the Princess as she recovered from cancer treatment earlier this year.

It comes from the video Kate released in September confirming she would return to public duties after completing her chemotherapy treatment.

The social media post read: ‘Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas’ – with the words on the card: ‘Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.’

MailOnline understands that the Waleses are already in Norfolk with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and that they always intended to be.

It has also been made clear that William and Kate’s absence from the lunch was in no way linked to Prince Andrew’s withdrawal due to the ongoing Chinese ‘spy scandal’.

The Prince and Princess of Wales in the original image, part of a video released on September 9

The confirmation from the royal source was given just before 11am, around the exact same time Charles was spotted arriving at Buckingham Palace for lunch.

Kate, who is gradually returning to public events after revealing in September that she had completed cancer treatment, was last seen with her family on December 6 at Westminster Abbey for her ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service.

Four days later, on a visit to Picton Barracks in Wiltshire, William said he was looking forward to Christmas but was “not ready” for Christmas and would be celebrating with 45 relatives at Sandringham “all in one room”, although they were “normally are spoken spoken’. ‘.

George, Charlotte and Louis have been on Christmas break since last Friday, when Lambrook School near Windsor, which they all attend, was closed until January 8.

William and Kate have been pictured at the luncheon in previous years, including in 2018 and 2019. The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic.

Prince William, George, Charlotte, Louis and Kate at the ‘Together At Christmas’ Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 6, 2024 – the last time the family was seen

It comes after William described the past year, which saw his wife and father treated for cancer, as ‘brutal’.

The prince spoke candidly about the royal family’s major health problems in an interview while in South Africa last month. He said 2024 has been “probably the hardest year of my life” and a “terrible” experience.

When asked about his year on November 7, William replied: “Honestly, it’s been terrible. It has probably been the hardest year of my life. So it’s been really hard to get through everything else and keep everything on track.

“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my dad, because he’s addressing the things that they’ve done. But from a personal family perspective, it was, yes, it was cruel.”

Kate appeared in a very personal video with her family in September to confirm her return to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

The Princess’s heartfelt message about her cancer journey was delivered through images of the Waleses and their children enjoying the outdoors, and she said her focus was now on ‘doing what I can to stay cancer-free’.

The Princess of Wales during a visit to Southport Community Center on October 10

The Princess of Wales at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on July 14

George, William, Louis, Kate and Charlotte at Buckingham Palace for a flypast on June 15

She described the past nine months since her serious health problems began as “incredibly hard on us as a family” and how “the cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone”, with the experience giving her a “new perspective on everything”. ‘

The king’s cancer diagnosis was announced in February and he is receiving outpatient treatment for an undisclosed form of the disease, but will return to fuller duties and travel abroad more next year.

Yesterday, the Duke of York pulled out of the King’s pre-Christmas lunch as he continues to be haunted by his links to an alleged Chinese spy.

Andrew decided not to attend the meeting after speaking to his ex-wife and close friend Sarah, Duchess of York, according to a source.

The King’s brother had already withdrawn from membership of the senior royals at Sandringham over the festive period.

It was previously revealed during a High Court hearing that alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was expelled from Britain, was said to have been a ‘close’ confidant of Andrew.

Mr Yang, named after the anonymity order that was revoked on Monday, has insisted it was “completely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage and that he “did nothing wrong or illegal”.