King Charles Announces Return of Christmas Spectacular at Sandringham—and William and Kate's Dog Is Invited

King Charles standing in front of a Christmas tree in a blue suit and tie; Prince William, wearing a blue shirt and white trousers, and Kate Middleton, wearing a white dress, walking their dog in front of a tree

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 2 October 2025

The Royal Family heads to Sandringham to celebrate Christmas each December, enjoying traditions like opening gifts on Christmas Eve and walking to church while chatting with members of the public. Former royal butler Grant Harrold recently pointed out that King Charles might make a "big change" and relocate the holiday tradition to Windsor Castle "in the near future" (via GB News). However, on October 1, the Sandringham estate shared on Instagram that it's playing a host to an exciting festive event for another year.

Luminate UK will return to Sandringham, with the post promising the event will light up "the Royal Parkland into an enchanting after-dark wonderland." Visitors to the estate can wander a trail "lit by thousands of twinkling lights and set to music" and other festive offerings include holiday food and beverages, marshmallow toasting and fair rides.

And according to the event, "well behaved dogs" are welcome on specific nights, meaning Princess Kate and Prince William could bring their cocker spaniel, Orla, along for the fun. The dog is making her TV debut on Friday, October, 3, appearing with Prince William in Eugene Levy's Apple TV+ show, The Reluctant Traveler.

Illuminate at Sandringham
A photo posted by on

Prince William walking in a park with Eugene Levy and Orla the dog — Orla is seen with Prince William and Eugene Levy during an episode of *The Reluctant Traveler*.

It's an event that the royal children would surely enjoy, as Princess Eugenie and her mom, Sarah Ferguson, brought young August and Ernest to a similar Christmas festival, Windsor Illuminated, in December 2024.

With Prince William, Princess Kate and their kids George, Charlotte and Louis moving to Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, it wouldn't be surprising to spot the Wales kids at Windsor Illuminated this year. But with the family traveling to Sandringham for Christmas each year, they could certainly attend the Sandringham event, too.

In late September, the Princess of Wales brought her children on another magical outing, visiting the set of HBO's new Harry Potter series in Windsor Great Park. "It was so special, Kate and the children met the young actors and the director on the set," a source told the Daily Mail. "There was only one night of filming there so it really was a magical ticket."

TOPICS

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.