As King Charles III and Queen Camilla unveiled their official Christmas card on December 7, 2025, the royal season quietly began. The photograph, taken in the peaceful spring gardens of Villa Wolkonsky during their state visit to Italy, shows the couple smiling beneath the soft Roman light. The card’s message is simple: “Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.” But behind the elegance of the image lies a more personal story about who will, once again, be absent from the family’s Christmas at Sandringham.
Queen Camilla’s plea last year was heartfelt. In the wake of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, she had asked her two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, to join her for Christmas Day. It would have been the first time in many years. Yet this season, both have chosen to spend the holidays elsewhere, despite the standing invitation extended to them every year.
Why Camilla’s children are missing from Sandringham again
