Prince William signals shift in approach to royal Christmas traditions

Prince William is reportedly planning to bring a change to years-old Royal Christmas traditions, a new report has revealed. 

According to Daily Mail, the Prince of Wales is expected to bring a more relaxed tone to future royal Christmas. 

An insider told the publication that the future King plans to drop some of Sandringham’s stricter traditions after taking over the throne.

They said that one of the customs likely to disappear is the long-running practice of handing out small “joke” gifts in order of royal seniority, something William has never been keen to follow.

"While William's mind is on much bigger changes than just the trestle table, it's well known to be one of those antiquated traditions that he's never really taken to," they said.

The insider added, "You can expect that to be one of the first things to go when he eventually hosts his first Sandringham Christmas."

The report further revealed that William has never been comfortable with some of Sandringham’s strict Christmas rules, especially sorting family members by rank.

They shared that Christmas Eve dinner is formal and tightly scheduled and guests are seated according to their status.

This often means people like Zara Tindall, who doesn’t have an HRH title, end up last. "William adores Zara, he would hate that the practice of leaving her to the back of a queue,” the source said.

"It's just not William's way of doing things at home and he has apparently quipped in the past that he wouldn't continue any of that stuff, though he appreciates his father does it for the nostalgia and as a way to remember the Queen."