According to reports, Kate Middleton’s 2017 Christmas card broke a significant royal tradition.
Only a few days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their cards public on Monday, December 16, the Prince and Princess’ card was made available to the public earlier this afternoon, December 19.
Additionally, the two celebratory cards differ in a number of significant ways right from the start.
In particular, William and Kate only chose one complete family portrait, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose six separate ones.
Interestingly, by refusing to disclose a single image, the couple was accused by a royal expert of violating royal procedure.
The loop was also posted on Kensington Palace’s official X account, and this year the Wales family released their Christmas card as a GIF.
“Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year,” the card’s message read, compared to the Sussexes’ which read: “We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful New Year.”
A computer-generated Christmas card featuring a picture of the couple with their children—Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and six-year-old Prince Louis—in front of a sparkling tree and snow falling in the foreground.
However, the fact that the selected photo had already been viewed by the public was what broke royal precedent, not the GIF component of the card.
