Princess Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi joined the royals at Sandringham in 2019 for Christmas – and it was all thanks to a tradition that was allowed to be broken for Meghan Markle

One of the highlights of the royal the Christmas is when the the Family head to Sandringham for their annual festive getaway.

King Charles and Queen Camilla as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children are expected to head to the Norfolk estate for the traditional royal Christmas of exchanging presents, attending church and a huge festive lunch. It’s not been confirmed yet which members of the Firm are due to attend – but among them may be the King’s niece Princess Beatrice, her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and their two-year-old daughter Sienna.

The couple married in an intimate wedding in July 2020 – meaning Edoardo now attends official royal events and gets the best seats in the house for celebrations. But in 2019, before they wed, he was invited to Christmas at Sandringham – even though tradition said he shouldn’t actually have been there.

Invites to the family’s private Sandringham celebrations are reserved for members of The Firm, and partners normally have to wait until they are married to join in. But Edoardo was given the rare privilege of joining the Christmas celebrations – despite not officially being part of the family.

He was seen making his way with the group to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham before they headed back to the main house for their private festivities. However, the tradition was also discarded in 2017 when Prince Harry invited his bride-to-be Meghan Markle ahead of their wedding, paving the way for Beatrice to do the same with Edo.

Meghan joined the Royals for the three-day Norfolk celebration as her own family were miles away in America. However, the Princess of Wales and Mike Tindall on the other hand had to wait until they had wed their respective spouses Prince William and Zara Tindall before being allowed to tuck into the royal turkey.

Meanwhile, according to ITV, this year, the guestlist for the big Sandringham celebration is set to look a lot different – that’s because Queen Camilla’s family are being invited for the first time. Camilla has two children from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles, Tom and Laura. She also has five grandchildren – Lola, Freddie, Eliza, Gus and Louis.

And they along with Camilla’s sister Annabel, will reportedly join the royals this Christmas, and the extra guests will mean lunch will be served in Sandringham’s bigger ballroom, rather than the dining room. A royal source told ITV: “The Queen has invited her children and grandchildren this year which is different from previous years.”