Prince William and Kate release Christmas card after skipping Buckingham Palace Christmas lunch for the first time

Prince William and Kate have skipped the Buckingham Palace Christmas luncheon for the first time.

King Charles welcomed extended members of the British royal family for the annual event on Thursday, but the Prince and Princess of Wales were among those missing from the festivities.

The couple are reportedly already in their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall, near the Sandringham Estate in the north-east of England, with their three kids - Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Watch the video above.

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A Kensington Palace source told UK news outlets the family had already planned to skip the lunch due to their travel plans and it was not a last-minute change.

The Waleses are said to be looking forward to celebrating Christmas Day with the family in Sandringham.

While the family missed the luncheon, they didn't stay out of the spotlight completely - releasing their Christmas card on Thursday afternoon (Friday morning AEDT).

The card has already been posted out to family, friends and the couple's charities but overnight, they released it on social media for fans to see.

A clip of the card sitting open on a table in front of a lit-up Christmas tree, surrounded by digital snow, shows the message inside.

"Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year," it reads.

The image used in the Christmas card is taken from a video released earlier this year to mark the end of Kate's chemotherapy treatment.

It shows Prince Louis, Prince William, Kate, Princess Charlotte and Prince George all sitting arm-in-arm together in Norfolk in the summer months which was seen in that clip, originally released in September.

The happy family are seen smiling broadly and the choice of photo is said to highlight their family-first focus of this year.

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It's not known if William and Kate's decision not to attend the large gathering for the first time - where there are approximately 70 members of the extended family - has anything to do with the Princess of Wales' health.

Kate was diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer earlier this year and underwent preventative chemotherapy treatment.

Prince William said he avoided the Olympic Games in Paris to minimise the risk of bringing COVID-19 home to his recovering wife, after some athletes were caught out during the sporting event.

However, the Wales family will attend the Sandringham festivities, which also has a large party of 45 guests.

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Princess Charlotte's bond with cousin on display at Christmas

The Prince of Wales recently gave fans an insight into the royal celebrations, revealing the family are "all in one room" but "normally spread out".

"Am I ready for Christmas?" he laughed while celebrating the holidays with military members in Wiltshire, in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of 1st Battalion Mercian Regiment.

"No, no way am I ready."

He added that he hopes for a long walk with the dogs on Christmas Day, which will presumably be in the morning given the royals head to church about 11am and there are presents to open before then.

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