Maybe there was a memo sent round the royal households of Europe, but many of this year’s Christmas cards seem to have similar images of showing their families holding on to each other tenderly.
Touching, linking arms, holding hands, hugging, they’re all sending messages about how close they are to each other.
It’s like royal superglue has been applied, connecting them in these Christmas portraits. This is the era of the relatable royals.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have been leading the way, with a Christmas card featuring a relaxed, informal family group cosying up in the Norfolk countryside.
As with last year’s card, they’re continuing in a style that is far away from a stiff, formal portrait, showing a young family having fun together on a spring day, full of affection, dressed in jeans and jumpers.
Prince William has talked about making changes in his approach to the monarchy.
And this is projecting an image that they’re like any other family, with eye-lines not looking down on the viewer, literally down to earth, sitting on the grass.
Compare that to this 1969 Christmas card, which shows the royals laughing, smiling and gathered around a boat. Presumably this was meant to feel relaxed and modern.
But they’re fairly stiffly dressed, they’re all standing apart and it looks like they’ve just been presented a prize on a game show.
Back to 2025 and King Charles and Queen Camilla are arm in arm in their Christmas card – a show of unity in what’s been a busy year.
The picture is a mix of the friendly and the formal, taken on the first day of the state visit to Italy, when the couple were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.
The Queen is wearing a lily-of-the-valley brooch, a symbol of enduring love.
That trip was in April, which accounts for the spring backdrop for this Christmas card. The setting is Villa Wolkonsky in Rome, the elegant residence of the UK’s ambassador to Italy.
Prince Harry and Meghan are holding hands in their Christmas card – or in fact, a “Happy Holiday Season” card.
Unlike others, they’ve got the season right, with some festive snow captured in a picture from the Invictus Game in Canada in February.
They look like a fashionable couple, smiling optimistically from behind their sunglasses. It’s got a sense of movement.
Although the framing of the message isn’t so intimate: “On behalf of the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
This portrait of the Belgian royal family depicts them as though on their way to a grand event. Or at least waiting at a very upmarket bus stop.
They’ve gone for a more polished look – suits, ties, long dresses – but also with a bit of greenery. The picture was presumably taken when it was warmer, outside their residence at the Palace of Laeken.
It’s a multilingual country and the greeting inside – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – is in French, German, Flemish and English.
The Spanish royals have combined a range of styles with their Christmas card.
It’s projecting a casual, approachable, family image, as if catching them accidentally on a walk in the countryside. No more ties or tiaras for these modern royals.
But at the same time, it has all the dynastic shape of a traditional court painting. A monarch and his family are looking out at us. It’s Velasquez in jeans.
The setting, a place which won an award for the best village in the Asturias region, sends a message about supporting Spain’s small communities and their traditional heritage.
King Felipe is 6ft 6in (1.97m) tall, so presumably the family group had to be arranged so that he didn’t tower over them. For Spaniards, it’s a case of very long to reign over us.
Monaco’s royal Christmas card is much grander, with a big fire, an oil painting, formal clothes, and a sense of regal order.
There’s also a sighting of the Alan Partridge-style smart casual look.
Bonus points, though, for actually showing a bit of Christmas, with a tree and the log fire, unlike many of the other cards that are basically just people sending pictures of themselves.
Another extra detail is the tiny dog smuggled into the picture, beside Charlene, Princess of Monaco. She’s a former Olympic swimmer and so not shy about making a splash.
The Luxembourg royals, the Grand Duke Guillaume and the Grand Duchess Stephanie, have covered all the angles for a 2025 card.
It’s got the touchy-feely, we’re-not-uptight family atmosphere, full of playful laughs and children clambering over their parents.
It’s also got a proper tree with decorations, there’s a Rudolf reindeer toy, and they’ve put some thought into all the splashes of red.
It might look a bit chaotic – but it’s Christmassy.
But there was no contest for this year’s winner. Juan Carlos, who abdicated as Spanish king in 2014, hit by scandals, now living in Abu Dhabi, sent an irresistible royal Christmas card.
Five small dogs in front of an artificial tree, looking regal in a kind of classic royal portrait line up. But it’s more bark than Bach.
What does it mean? The light is glinting on the dogs’ baubles. They look up with crumpled, hopeful faces. It’s Christmas, and that’s a time for paws for thought.
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