Why Queen Camilla’s children didn’t join royals for Christmas Day walkabout

But they were at Sandringham for other Christmas festivities

Queen Camilla was amongst members of the royal family who stepped out for the annual Christmas Day walkabout yesterday, but her children weren’t present.

King Charles, Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales were among the royals who attended a church service before embarking on the walkabout to greet fans who had gathered.

This year, it’s said Queen Camilla‘s children – Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes – joined the royals at Sandringham for Christmas. According to reports, they also attended the church service on Christmas morning.

However, they didn’t join the royals on the public walkabout and a reason why might have been revealed.

The queen’s family didn’t attend the public walkabout after the church service (Credit: Cover Images)

Why Queen Camilla’s children missed Christmas Day walkabout

The MailOnline reports that Tom and Laura – Camilla’s children from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles – slipped into the church secretly to avoid the crowds.

Meanwhile, they reportedly didn’t join the walkabout as they’re private individuals.

It comes after Tom revealed he had been invited to spend Christmas at Sandringham.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Tom said: “My mum said, ‘I’d love you to come, I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time.’

“For the past 15 years, it has been: I go back to my ex-wife’s house, sit in my tracksuit bottoms, go to the pub while the beef’s in, then try to get my children to watch The Wild Geese. Classic. So this would be a bit different.”

Members of the royal family attended a church service on Christmas Day (Credit: Cover Images)

Royal family on Christmas Day

Fans were delighted to see members of the royal family out on Christmas Day for their traditional walkabout.

Princess Kate was seen sharing a hug with a cancer patient who was in the crowd. It comes following the end of her cancer treatment. Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in March, and shared she had completed her treatment in September.

My mum said, ‘I’d love you to come, I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time.’

Meanwhile, Kate told an NHS worker who was in the crowd: “The amount of people who have written this year is extraordinary. I think cancer just really does resonate with so many families.

“People like you are doing all the hard work out there. I’m hugely grateful.”

The king delivered his Christmas Day speech from the chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital (Credit: BBC)

King Charles’ Christmas 2024 speech

Elsewhere, King Charles‘ Christmas speech aired on December 25 from the chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London.

In it, the monarch spoke about healthcare professionals who have supported him and Kate through their cancer ordeals.

He said: “I am speaking to you today from the chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London – now itself a vibrant community space – and thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others – often at some cost to themselves.

“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed.”