Princess Kate and Prince William have pulled out of today’s pre-Christmas lunch alongside the Royal Family.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will not be attending the wider luncheon at Buckingham Palace today.
GB News understands they look forward to spending time with the family, as usual in Sandringham over Christmas.
Kate and William, both 42, are already in Norfolk, and always planned to be.
Princess Kate and Prince William pull out of pre-Christmas lunch alongside Royal Family
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This comes amid Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson also dropping out of attending the same event.
The Duke of York has been wrapped up in royal scandal over the ongoing “Chinese spy” controversy.
Andrew decided not to attend the gathering at Buckingham Palace on Thursday after speaking to his ex-wife and close friend Sarah, Duchess of York, according to a source.
The move is another embarrassing moment for the King’s brother, who has already withdrawn from joining senior royals at Sandringham for the festive period.
Prince William and Princess Kate arriving at the Christmas Lunch back in 2019
PA
The Buckingham Palace lunch is a private event for senior royals and their wider family who will not be attending Christmas celebrations at Charles’s Sandringham home.
Earlier this week, it was revealed in a High Court hearing that alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK, was said to have been a “close” confidant of Andrew.
Yang, who was named after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, has insisted it was “entirely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage and that he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”.
The businessman, previously referred to only as H6 in the legal case, was the founder-partner of the Chinese arm of the duke’s Pitch@Palace initiative, and twice visited Buckingham Palace in 2018 to meet with the late Queen’s second son.
Prince Andrew arriving at the pre-Christmas lunch back in 2019
PA
Prince Andrew also pulled out of Christmas with the Royal Family amid the ‘Chinese spy’ controversy
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He is also said to have entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at Andrew’s invitation.
On Friday, the duke’s office said Andrew “ceased all contact” with the then-unnamed businessman when concerns were first raised about him.
Andrew met Yang through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement said.