Prince George, 5, and Princess Charlotte, 3, were eager to start their holiday celebrations, their parents revealed to well-wishers lining the route of their annual walk to Christmas Day church services on Tuesday morning.
When a fan asked the pair how early they got up, William replied, “This morning was about 5 a.m.” Kate smiled at the answer as the crowd moaned at the early time.
Another royal fan, Jill Lee, told reporters that Kate shared a similar story. “I said to Kate, ‘Were the children up early?’ and she said, ‘Very early, but it was lovely to see their faces,’ ” according to Hello!
The royal family actually follows the tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve after they’ve gathered at the Queen’s country estate, Sandringham. In lieu of expensive gifts, they exchange silly presents. (Kate reportedly gave brother-in-law Prince Harry a plastic Grow Your Own Girlfriend kit one Christmas — something he won’t be needing now with wife Meghan Markle by his side!)
During a visit to Leicester in late November, Kate revealed that her two eldest children were getting ready for the holiday festivities.
“They’re doing well, thank you,” she told a fan who asked about the little royals in a video shared by Harry_Meghan_Updates on Instagram. “They’re getting excited for Christmas time, because they’ve started all their Christmas songs and the Christmas trees are going up.”
Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, also opened up to U.K. newspaper The Telegraph about her grandchildren and their own Christmas tradition. The 63 year old shared that she likes to have as many trees as possible in her home, including one for each of her grandchildren’s rooms.
Explaining her reasoning, Carole shared it’s “so that they can decorate it themselves.”