Prince William and Kate Middleton share intimate Christmas card

The card’s release follows news that the family will not attend a pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace but will celebrate at Sandringham.

Prince William also described the past year as “tough” due to family health challenges, especially Kate Middleton’s battle with cancer.

The Prince and Princess of Wales recently shared their Christmas card on social media, which includes an intimate photo.

The photo shows the couple with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, a location that holds special meaning for the family.

The image, taken from a video Kate posted in September, also pays tribute to Anmer Hall, the family’s private residence, which became a haven for the princess while she recovered from her treatment earlier this year.

The inside message of the card includes warm wishes: “Have a Merry Christmas and New Year.”

The caption to the social media post read: “Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.”

The reveal of William and Kate’s card came hours after it was revealed that the family would not attend the traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, William and Kate will celebrate the holiday with other members of the royal family at the Sandringham estate, continuing a long-standing tradition.

Kate, who returned to public life after announcing in September that she had completed her cancer treatment, was last seen with her family at Westminster Abbey on December 6 for her “Together at Christmas” mass.

A few days later, during a visit to Picton Barracks in Wiltshire, William said he was looking forward to the holiday but was “not ready” for Christmas yet.

According to Daily MailHe stated that the family will celebrate at Sandringham with 45 of their relatives gathered in one room instead of the usual arrangements.

In a candid interview during his trip to South Africa last month, William spoke about the challenging year his family went through, describing it as “brutal.”

When asked about what the year was like, William admitted: “Honestly, it’s been terrible. This has probably been the hardest year of my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really hard.”

“But I’m very proud of my wife, and I’m proud of my father, for dealing with the things they did. But from a personal family standpoint, it was brutal,” he added.

In September, Kate shared a very personal video with her family to announce her return to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

The video showed touching scenes of Welsh people and their children enjoying the outdoors while Kate reflected on her cancer journey. Her current focus is “doing what I can to stay cancer-free,” she said.

Looking back on the past nine months, which have been marked by her health struggles, Kate described the experience as “incredibly difficult for us as a family.”

She acknowledged the complexity, fear and unpredictability of the cancer journey, explaining how it gave her a “new perspective on everything”.

According to royal expert Grant Harrold, Kate may reach out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this Christmas season, perhaps even having a FaceTime call with them.

He continued: “I think Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan and wish them a happy Christmas, and I think Harry and Meghan will probably reach out to them.”

Harold added: “The thing about Christmas is that it’s about being good to others, about letting go, letting go of the past, and moving on to the new year.” GB News. “So, if there’s any time of year when families connect or connect, it’s during Christmas – there’s something magical about Christmas that brings families back together.”

“I’d like to think they’ll all communicate, whether it’s via text calls or FaceTime — I’d like to think FaceTime, but that’s something we’ll never know,” he concluded.