Brides Should Note the Mistake in Kate and Will’s 2024 Christmas Card

We’re currently in the midst of the holiday season. This time of year is full of festive traditions—from exchanging gifts and sipping on hot chocolate to spending time with family and indulging in winter treats. However, there’s also another key ritual around these months: sending out a holiday card—a tradition even royalty heeds. Today, the Prince and Princess of Wales finally released their version for this year. The white card, which features a simple greeting, “Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year,” showcases a photo of the family of five. The picture was taken in Norfolk earlier this year when the family filmed a video announcing the end of Kate’s chemotherapy treatment. 

That montage, which was released in September, showcased the prince, princess, and their three children partaking in a number of outdoor activities, including playing cards on a picnic blanket, climbing over a pile of tree logs, and even combing a bug out of Charlotte’s hair. However, while the image clearly captured the family’s nature-filled adventures, it did include a photography faux pas: a lingering hair tie on Charlotte’s wrist. In the photo, the prince and princess’s only daughter hangs her arms around her mother and her older brother, with the thin band on display in the image’s lower right-hand corner.

While the presence of a thin hair tie on Charlotte’s left wrist is understandable given the active events of the day, it’s an important reminder of what to avoid when it comes to your own wedding photos. That’s why those last-minute checks, which should ideally happen before you walk down the aisle and definitely before your portrait session, are important. Of course, you have a failsafe: Your photographer can always edit or Photoshop a hair-tie out if you, a bridesmaid, or another big-day VIP forgets to remove theirs from their wrist.

In addition to sharing their holiday card, Kate and William recently partook in another famous wintertime tradition: attending the annual Christmas service hosted by the princess at Westminster Abbey. At the event, the family of five looked at messages tied to a tree outside of the church before heading inside to sing carols at the candlelit affair. However, while much of Kate and William’s rituals have remained intact this year, People recently revealed that the royals won’t be attending a pre-Christmas lunch hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Ahead of the December holiday, the family is reportedly already in Norfolk, which is over 100 miles from London. The traditional gathering, which Charles has continued after Queen Elizabeth’s passing, is always held the week before Christmas, bringing the family together before many of them head north to Sandringham in Norfolk. The prince, princess, and their children do still plan to still attend Christmas at Sandringham.