The Royal Family’s Christmas Day is all about traditions, from walking to attend church in the morning, to assembling in the dining room for Christmas dinner at 1pm. They’re sure to watch the King’s Christmas speech in the afternoon too and as evening approaches, I feel confident that Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales will settle down for another festive programme.
As Royal Editor I’ve honed my royal prediction skills and after all Camilla and Catherine have both said in the past, I’d be shocked if the pair didn’t tune into the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special. It airs at 5:30pm on Christmas Day and is even more momentous than usual as it will officially mark the final appearance of hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
Their statement announcing their exit after 2025 was met with sadness from fans and Queen Camilla wrote a personal message to the duo that was read out in the Strictly final. If you didn’t already know she was a big fan, you’d be left in no doubt after this!
Her Majesty signed off the message “with warmest gratitude and admiration” and included the classic Strictly catch phrase – “Keeeeeeeep dancing!” This was such a lovely personal note to Claudia and Tess and was a total surprise, although it’s not the first time she’d paid tribute to the BBC series.
She appeared as part of a 2020 video thanking Strictly for “uplifting the nation” during the pandemic. Queen Camilla and King Charles watch the show together and the Princess of Wales is a fellow loyal viewer.
(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)
The Princess took Princess Charlotte and Louis to visit the set in 2023 and they got to meet Shirley. She’s said they had a “complete ball” and the judge thought it would be a “nice idea” to give Charlotte a crown they had on set whilst Louis got sweets.
He apparently asked to have the same as his big sister and so they found him a crown of his own. From the sounds of it, he and Charlotte would probably be up for watching the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special at Sandringham House with their mum and step-grandmother.
(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)
It comes ahead of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, EastEnders and the Call the Midwife Christmas special and Amandaland special, making up a strong Christmas Day early evening line-up on BBC One. Queen Camilla and Princess Catherine have plenty of time to enjoy Strictly too, as it ends an hour and a half before dinner is served.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady has previously explained that a buffet is laid out around 8:15pm and given how many of their other yuletide traditions are still upheld, these timings are likely to still be in place.
They can, of course, also catch up on the show afterwards on BBC iPlayer if they don’t watch it live. The Prince and Princess of Wales are also partial to thrillers, like Black Doves and Killing Eve, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they found another high-octane show to race through during the Christmas break, as well as watching the family-friendly favourites like Strictly.
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