The Major Difference Between Kate and Diana at Royal Christmases

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published 1 July 2019

Kate Middleton and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, have a lot in common, but they also have some differences. One of their biggest differences shines through during the royal family's Christmas celebrations.

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl describes the difference in how Kate and Diana felt about the royal family's annual Boxing Day shoot on the day after Christmas.

When Kate was still dating Prince William, she was invited to the royal family's Sandringham estate for the Boxing Day shoot (after spending Christmas with her own family). According to Nicholl, Boxing Day wasn't Kate's first time shooting in Sandringham:

When Will younger, his mother, Princess Diana never participated in the shoot herself and didn't love that Will and Harry did.

"Diana never enjoyed her stays at the royal residences, complaining that William and Harry were 'always out killing things,' but Kate loved the sport and seemed to settle in well," Nicholl wrote.

Prince Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, takes after Diana when it comes to the royal tradition. When she and Harry were engaged, reports surfaced that she had encouraged him to skip a shoot in Balmoral and last Christmas, Kate apparently waited until Meghan had left Sandringham to participate in the shoot herself.

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.