The Prince and Princess of Wales annually have the difficult task of choosing whether to spend the festive period with the Windsor’s or the Middleton family, a decision which would not be easy for either party.
And in one such instance, Kate was left in tears after William had to make a choice between seeing the Princess of Wales or remaining with his family for the New Year.
Back in 2006, before the couple were married, tradition dictated that Kate could not spend the big day at Sandringham, as invites for Christmas with the Royal Family were limited to married couples.
Though the couple could not spend Christmas together at the time, it is reported that they had big plans for their New Year celebrations.
But according to a book, William had to cancel their plans at the last minute, leaving the Princess of Wales in floods of tears.
In ‘The Making of a Royal Romance’, released in 2011, royal author Katie Nicholl claimed William had promised to join Kate and her family, but later chose to stay with his family instead, informing her over the phone on Boxing Day.
Katie wrote: “William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have a frank discussion about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to hurry into anything.”
In the following weeks, Kate and William briefly split in 2007, a decision that was said to leave the late Queen disappointed.
The breakup was short lived though, as William and Kate were seen kissing at an army party at barracks in Bovington, Dorset.
In July 2007, Kate was seen at the Concert for Diana, held at Wembley to mark 10 years since the death of William’s mother Princess Diana, attending the event with her brother James.
Shortly after, it was confirmed that the couple were back together, and Kate moved into William’s Clarence House flat, where he would return from military duties on Friday nights to spend the weekend with his-then girlfriend Kate.
In 2010, the couple announced their engagement, and the rest is history. The couple have been happily married since 2011 and share three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Since then, the couple have spent their Christmas holidays together, with the majority of their festive periods spent with the Royal Family at Sandringham Estate.
