Prince William admits he and Kate are struggling to make Christmas plans
Prince William has admitted he and his wife Kate have not yet decided where to spend Christmas as the nation continues to work out how to form their festive bubbles.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, continued their royal tour of the UK on Tuesday 8 December, with a visit to Cardiff Castle where they met students from three of the city’s universities.
As they discussed the problems that had arisen in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, William admitted his household hasn’t decided on their festive plans yet.
He said: “It is so difficult. We are still trying to make plans. It’s difficult to know what to do for the best.”
The couple, who have three children, usually spend Christmas in Sandringham, Norfolk, with the Queen.
But this year, the Queen and Prince Philip have decided to stay in Windsor Castle and have a “quiet” Christmas.
William’s father Charles and his wife Camilla, will be staying at Highgrove.
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With families in the UK allowed to form bubbles of up to three households, it leaves the Cambridges with a tricky decision about how to form their own.
Kate has two siblings - brother James and sister Pippa - and so they would be four households if they were all to go to her parents’ home in Bucklebury.
But Camilla has two children too, who both have their own children, and so any bubble formed there could limit which grandchildren the Duchess of Cornwall could see.
They will also have to factor in the relatively older ages of their families. The Queen and Philip are 94 and 99, while Charles and Camilla are both over 70.
However, both Charles and William have had coronavirus.
Lily Faulkner, a 21-year-old second-year politics and international studies student at Cardiff University, said after the visit: “They were trying, like the rest of us, to make Christmas plans with their family and still weren’t 100% sure of what they were going to do or where they were going to be.”
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also played a Secret Santa game with the students, with Kate buying a Prosecco pong game set for Gwennan Lewis, a student at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Kate was given a Welsh love spoon, a traditional gift that is often associated with weddings or births.
The royal couple has already travelled to Scotland and several towns in the north of England on the royal train, and Tuesday is the last day of engagements.
But their cross-border travel hasn’t been welcomed by everyone. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, seemed reluctant to have the couple visit Edinburgh, while Vaughan Gething, the Welsh health minister, said he would have preferred if no one was making unnecessary journeys.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden welcomed William and Kate’s trip to Cardiff, and said: “It is wonderful news that Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been able to visit Cardiff today to see the impact that culture has on our communities.
“Throughout the pandemic, organisations across the country have stepped up to support those in need and our choirs, bands, actors, film-makers, museums – and the technical crews that support them – are no different.
“Cultural and heritage organisations across the country have brought us joy and happiness online, on television and on our mobile phones by creating cultural content we can enjoy safely.”
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart also backed the trip, and said: “Wales’s cultural sector is one of our greatest assets, so it was great to see their Royal Highnesses in Cardiff experiencing some of the rich talent we continue to produce.”
Watch: Prince William and Kate arrive in Manchester
