A surprising guest will join the Royal Family's Christmas at Sandringham this year

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York will spend her first Christmas with the Royal Family in 30 years, it’s being reported. She hasn’t spent a Christmas with her former husband, Prince Andrew’s family, since the 1992 scandal involving leaked photographs featuring the Duchess and financial adviser, John Bryan.  

• Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, will spend Christmas with ex-husband Prince Andrew, King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and the rest of the Royal Family this year.
• Sarah – mother to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – hasn’t been invited to Christmas with the royals since 1992.
• In other royal news, why King Charles’ Christmas break could be cut a little shorter than the Queen’s used to be.

It is the first Christmas without Queen Elizabeth II, and King Charles is ready to introduce some new rules to the families’ festivities.

Or, rather, he is going to bring back a former guest.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and ex-wife to Prince Andrew, is reportedly spending Christmas at Sandringham for the first time in 30 years.

A source has told British tabloid The Sun that Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate is being prepared for Sarah, her ex-husband Prince Andrew, Princesses Beatrice, Eugenie and their families to stay in over Christmas.

If true, this would be the first time the Duchess of York has spent Christmas with the royals since 1992, the year she was banned by the Prince Philip due to the scandalous photos of her having her toes sucked by financial adviser John Bryan were leaked to the press.

That particular drama has most recently been revisited in season five of The Crown.

Sarah being embraced by the family shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Despite not spending Christmas with them, she maintained a cordial relationship with many members of the family, and even adopted the Queen’s surviving Corgis to look after following Her Majesty’s death.

Sarah’s return also raises questions about just how visible Andrew will be over the holidays.

The source explained, “Andrew is banned from public life, but you can’t ban him from family Christmas. Staff at Sandringham have been tasked with getting Wood Farm ready for the whole York family.”

“When she split with Andrew, Sarah was never allowed at the family Christmas Eve and Christmas Day while Philip and the Queen were alive. For 30 years, she used to have Christmas dinner on her own. But things are being done differently now.”

It’s not yet known if Sarah will join the family for the famous annual walk on Christmas morning, but it’s highly likely Andrew will not be.

King Charles has reportedly confirmed that Andrew will no longer be taking part in any public duties – with the possibility of a future return for the disgraced royal ruled out after Charles’ ascension.