The Christmas season is nearly upon us – and the royals are moving full speed ahead with holiday planning. After it was announced that the Queen would once again host her family at Sandringham, it was revealed this week that the Cambridge kids would have three holiday celebrations this year: at home with their parents, at Sandringham with ‘Gan-Gan’ and with the extended Middleton family in Berkshire. Meanwhile, after a bombshell documentary about the rift between William and Harry aired on the BBC, Kate and William pulled their television special from the network, sparking claims that the Palace is readying to go to war against the UK’s public broadcast company. Across the pond, Meghan’s rumored political aspirations were dampened when a little-known constitutional amendment aimed at stopping foreign nobility from holding office was resurrected. Here’s what you need to know. 

THE QUEEN’S BLESSING: The Queen celebrated the double christening of her two great-grandsons with Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and their families in Windsor on Sunday afternoon. There were fears Her Majesty would not attend after missing a Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph last week because of a sprained back. After canceling that appearance, the 95-year-old put royal watchers on edge after issuing an eerie warning that ‘none of us can slow the passage of time’. 

Her Majesty, however, was set on being present at the weekend event. Commentator Penny Junor told the Sun attending the baptism of her great-grandsons would have been very important to her. She said: ‘I’ve never heard of two royal babies being christened together like this. The Queen is very spiritual, a christening is a very important occasion for the head of the Church of England and being there will be of great importance to her… She’s very fond of Zara and Mike, and Eugenie too.’ 

Many guests arrived in convoy. Princess Eugenie cut a stylish figure as she arrived alongside husband Jack Brooksbank at the All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park. The royal, who wore her auburn locks loose, looked glamorous in a silk white dress featuring embroidered detail which she paired with a statement headband and blue pendant necklace, while her husband Jack looked dapper in a navy suit, crisp white shirt and light blue, patterned tie. 

Zara Tindall, 40, opted for a black ensemble and pearl dangling earrings as she drove herself to the venue in a black Range Rover, while her smiling husband Mike arrived in a separate vehicle dressed in a smart blazer. The royal babies were reportedly christened in the Holy Water Prince Charles picked up on his recent trip to Jordan. 

A MERRY CAMBRIDGE CHRISTMAS: It seems like a great time to be a royal great-grandchild: Kate Middleton and Prince William’s children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – are likely to enjoy three Christmases this year. The Duke and Duchess, however, will not ‘lavish them with expensive gifts’. 

Duncan Larcombe, author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story, told Ok! magazine that he had reason to believe William and Kate, both 39, would have a small Christmas in Anmer Hall in Norfolk, a more formal family gathering with the Queen in Sandringham and another family reunion with Kate’s family. But he added that the parents-of-three would make sure their children are not spoilt and have as ‘normal’ a Christmas as possible. 

He went on to say the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were likely to create their own family traditions with Christmas at Anmer Hall before heading to Sandringham for the traditional family reunion.

Th royal author claimed the doting parents may let their three children open some gifts before heading to Scotland. However, he went on to say the formal family reunion was not known for opulent gift-giving. The expert believes the royal family preferred to keep gifts to a minimum and would not be giving each other more than one gift per person. 

‘We’ve certainly never seen Range Rovers turning up at Sandringham piled high with presents in the boot [trunk],’ he explained. ‘There are so many children and grandchildren, it wouldn’t be practical anyway.’ He added Kate’s side of the family are more likely to ‘go to town’ for Christmas because they didn’t get to celebrate with George, Charlotte and Louis last year due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time. 

THE ROYAL REJECTIONS: In his interview, Larcombe also went on to say that the Cambridge children were also likely to receive thousands of gifts from well-wishers, but won’t get to see or keep them. He said there is a royal protocol regarding what happens to the gifts sent to the royal households from the public, and that Kate and William will make sure their children are ‘shielded’ from them.

Likely to be absent from the festivities, however, will be George, Charlotte and Louis’s uncle Prince Harry. It was reported that Harry and Meghan Markle will not be returning to the UK for Christmas despite being invited to join the rest of the royal family at Sandringham, sources claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently living in a $14 million mansion in California, are also expected to miss the Queen’s annual Christmas lunch for her extended family, which is usually held at Buckingham Palace.

A royal source told Page Six: ‘There’s a lot that goes into the logistics and the planning of the family Christmas, so of course, staff know that Harry and Meghan are not coming. If they were, they would have communicated it to their family by now. ‘But this is Her Majesty’s first Christmas without her husband, so one would have hoped they would want to be with her.’ Pictured: Meghan on an appearance of the Ellen Show last week.

This year is the Queen’s first Christmas without Prince Philip after his death in April. The monarch, 95, has also suffered with several health problems which forced her to miss events recently and even triggered a short hospital stay.

THE PRINCES AND THE PRESS: It comes as the Royals waged war with the BBC for airing a new documentary the corporation claimed would provide ‘context’ for Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship with the media. Neither the Queen, Prince Charles nor Prince William were allowed an advance preview of the program – a move the infuriated the Palace. The Royal Family was further enraged after finally watching the program, and immediately hit back at the BBC claiming they had given credibility to ‘overblown and unfounded claims’. 

Additionally, viewers questioned the broadcast company noting that the Palace only provided a written statement in the program while the episode featured an appearance from Jenny Afia, a lawyer from Schillings who represents Meghan as well as her ‘friend’ and reporter Omid Scobie (not pictured).  

Buckingham Palace has reportedly threatened a boycott on future projects with the BBC, while Kate Middleton and Prince William have already taken action. In a Wednesday report, it was revealed that the Cambridges had dropped the BBC for their Christmas special. The Christmas charity fundraiser, hosted by the Duchess with William watching on at Westminster Abbey, will instead be aired by British broadcast network ITV .

An industry insider said: ‘It was all arranged to be on BBC1 but it was switched in the last few days because of the terrible row over the documentary. And things are likely to get a lot worse between the Royal Family and the BBC before they get better as the second part of the documentary threatens to go further.’ MailOnline was not immediately able to confirm the Christmas special was meant to appear on the BBC or when ITV was offered the rights to air the concert. 

Speaking about the decision to drop the BBC for the Christmas concert, a TV industry source told the Sun: ‘This is a real coup for ITV. It is a brand new format – the royals have never hosted a televised TV concert before. And to have the Duchess leading on it is a big deal. Naturally most royal programming goes automatically to the BBC as the national broadcaster. Now it looks like they will work more with ITV in the future.’ 

Kate joined in a science lesson where pupils learned about neuroscience and the importance of early childhood development on the brain. The royal mother of three, who shared a desk with some of the students, said she found their enthusiasm and engagement inspiring. 

She tried her hand at a worksheet and asked the children whether they found the lesson ‘interesting’ and if they had covered the topic before. The science lesson focused on the neuroscience underpinning how a caregiver’s behavior is pivotal to childhood development and children’s future outcomes. The topic is closely linked to one of the cornerstones of the Duchess’s royal work. 

Through her work with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, launched this summer, Kate aims to highlight how what we experience in early childhood shapes the developing brain, which is why positive relationships, environments and experiences during this period are so crucial. Kate told students that she felt ‘passionate’ about the subject, telling them: ‘I was so fascinated when I first learnt about this. How babies’ brains are formed and how they developed and what this means for us when we grow up.’ 

A tweak was made to the constitution in 1810 to bar anyone who receives ‘a title of nobility bestowed from a foreign power’ from holding office, according to experts. The centuries-old amendment was initially proposed to stop Napo­leon’s nephew from seeking power after his brother married American socialite Eliza­beth ‘Betsy’ Pat­ter­son amid speculation their son may run for office. 

However, it could be revived to prevent any plans for the Duchess to launch a leadership bid, The Sunday Telegraph reported. While Meghan Markle has never spoken of a genuine intention to run for office, biographer Tom Bower has previously claimed the prospect of a presidency campaign was ‘possible and I’d even say likely’.

The Duchess has also been politically active since marrying into the Royal Family, attempting to influence a $1.75 trillion infrastructure plan to include paid leave for new parents and penning an open lobbyist letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pleading for it to be made a ‘national right’. US politicians say Meghan introduced herself as The Duchess of Sussex, leading to criticism she was using ‘tactics of an aspiring politician’ and adopting a ‘ruthless streak’ to try and influence Biden’s Build Back Better bill. Her allies, though, say this is her legal name after she changed it from Meghan Markle when she married Prince Harry in May 2018.