Duchess Camilla of Cornwall has made one of her most heart-warming festive traditions virtual this year amidst covid-19 restrictions.
- Duchess Camilla held a virtual Christmas decorating party for children supported by Helen & Douglas House Hospice.
- The Duchess reportedly spoke of how it's "not going to be a Christmas like others this year".
- In other Royal News, it's been revealed that Prince William left Duchess Catherine in tears one Christmas.
The Duchess and her husband Prince Charles were due to be spending Christmas in Gloucestershire this year after the Queen was forced to cancel the Royal Family’s traditional family gathering at Sandringham.
Many other Royal Family Christmas traditions also won't be happening this year due to the pandemic.
However Duchess Camilla was not about to abandon one of her favourite festive traditions and turned to a video link to keep the Christmas spirit alive.
What is Duchess Camilla’s Christmas tradition and how did she keep it going?
Each year Duchess Camilla decorates the Christmas tree in Clarence House, with the help of children with serious, life-limiting conditions. With the children unable to attend her Christmas decorating party this year, Duchess Camilla spoke via video link to children supported by Helen & Douglas House Hospice.
Helen & Douglas House Hospice provides medical, emotional and practical support to help families of children with life-limiting conditions, so they can make the most of their time together
She invited nine children to help her decorate the impressive Christmas tree in her hallway - with a little help from her Assistant Equerry Captain Charlie Ross of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, of course.
The Duchess introduced him to the children, reportedly stating: "Here's Charlie in his bearskin and he is going to put your very own special baubles with your name on, onto the tree".
After the decorating was completed, the Duchess acted as a “Mother Christmas” of sorts, piling gifts for the children onto a horse-drawn carriage, telling the horses: “Get these presents to the children on time. I have faith in you."
Speaking of the wonderful work Helen & Douglas House do, Duchess Camilla is reported as having gone on to say: "They are really brilliant, aren't they? They are the best hospice I have ever seen”.
According to Hello! magazine, the mother of one of the children, said: "We can't thank Helen & Douglas House and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall enough for letting us experience this moment."
It’s clear how just much this magical Christmas occasion meant to the children and their families.
What has Duchess Camilla said about Christmas 2020?
As she ended the call, Duchess Camilla wished the children and their families "a very happy Christmas”, adding: “let’s hope for a better New Year. It was lovely to see you all".
After the adapted festive event, the Duchess of Cornwall revealed her own Christmas plans.
As reported in the Daily Mail, Duchess Camilla said: "I suppose we shall just be at home and see who we are going to be able to see”.
There had already been speculation over whether or not the Duchess and Prince of Wales would be able to see either of their families this Christmas.
It had been thought that Prince Charles might be able to see his parents, the Queen and Prince Philip, in a socially distanced manner at some point over the festive period, before the new restrictions were announced.
"It's not going to be a Christmas like others this year,” Duchess Camilla continued. “And we have just got to make the best of it. Even if it is just meeting up outside or in the garden.”
“We've got to talk to our families, it's just a question of trying to find the safest way to do it.”
Since then London and much of the South Eastern counties have entered Tier 4. Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Prince Philip are currently and where they will be celebrating Christmas "quietly" is in Berkshire which is also affected by the new restrictions.
Whether Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles will be staying in contact with their families virtually this Christmas instead remains to be seen.
Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with five years experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, GoodToKnow and My Imperfect Life.
Before she joined Future Publishing, Emma graduated from the University of Warwick with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literary Studies. After leaving education, she started out her publishing career in the world of books, working as a Publisher for an independent digital publisher specializing in back-list and debut commercial fiction novels. With a huge book list and a passion for bringing the best stories to the broadest audience possible, Emma filled her spare time with reading the latest best-sellers and catching up on hit adaptations.
In 2017 she joined TI Media as a fiction writing coordinator on Woman’s Weekly and Woman’s Weekly Fiction as part of the features team. From here, she used her love of books, working to bring short stories to our dedicated readers and began writing for the books pages of Woman, Woman’s Own and Woman&Home, as well as online features ranging from genre round-ups to travel pieces for womanandhome.com.
After honing her skills, Emma branched out online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first. When she’s not writing about the next big lifestyle trend, she enjoys cooking, long walks and watching as many crime dramas as she can!
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