The Royal Christmas Card Tradition
King Charles and Queen Camilla have unveiled their official Christmas card, featuring a heartfelt tribute to their marriage. The card showcases a photograph of the couple taken in the grounds of Villa Wolkonsky, the British Ambassador’s residence in Rome, during their Majesties’ State Visit to Italy in April 2025. The image captures the King and Queen standing side by side with their arms intertwined, symbolizing their 20th wedding anniversary.
Camilla wore a Lily of the Valley brooch that once belonged to the Queen Mother, while she was dressed in a white and beige coat dress by Anna Valentine. Charles, on the other hand, wore a navy suit and a silver-grey tie. Inside the card, the message reads: ‘Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.’
This year’s card is a departure from previous years, where the royal couple has been seen in more formal settings. Last year’s card featured Charles and Camilla posing casually in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The image, captured by Millie Pilkington, showed the couple amidst blooming pink and purple flowers. In that photo, Camilla wore a blue wool crepe dress by Fiona Clare, with her arm around her husband, while Charles wore a light grey suit and a patterned blue tie.
The 2023 card marked a stark contrast to the formal coronation photo taken by Hugo Burnand in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace. That year, the King wore the Imperial State Crown, and Camilla donned Queen Mary’s Crown. Both were dressed in the Robes of Estate. Burnand described the atmosphere during the photoshoot as ‘cosy,’ adding that there was a ‘lovely buzz’ while he set up and took the coronation images.
In 2022, the first Christmas card sent by Charles as monarch featured a close-up shot of him and his wife. Taken by award-winning photographer Sam Hussein, the image showed the royal couple at a Highland Gathering just days before the late Queen Elizabeth II passed away. The photo captured Charles from a side profile, dressed in a tweed suit with a red, green, and beige tie, while Camilla wore a green suit and matching hat with a pheasant motif and pearl earrings.
A Legacy of Royal Christmas Cards
The tradition of royals sending Christmas cards dates back to 1914, when King George V and Queen Mary sent them during World War I to share a message of goodwill with the troops and their families. However, according to the Royal Trust Collection, the first Christmas cards were sent in 1843 following the introduction of the ‘penny post.’ Members of the Royal Family often selected a recent family photograph for their personal Christmas card.
In 2023, a collection of royal Christmas cards was put up for sale, including festive images from almost every year between 1953 and 1989. These cards were kept by Commander Sir Philip John Row, who served as Deputy Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth II and later as Extra Equerry to the Queen Mother. The collection, auctioned at Woolley & Wallis, showcased how the Royal Family had evolved over four decades, featuring three generations, from the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, their children, and Princes William and Harry.
The earliest card in the collection features the now-King as a five-year-old, while a later one shows him as a grown-up with his two sons. Among the cards are some from the 1950s showing Charles with Princess Anne as children, and Princes Andrew and Edward in the 1960s and early ’70s. The 1960 card shows the family on the front lawn at Balmoral with baby Andrew, while baby Edward appears in a pram in 1964 with the family huddled around it. The 1978 card features Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip by a fireplace, and the 1981 card shows the newlyweds Charles and Princess Diana.
Sir Philip John Row joined the Royal Navy in 1922 and served on HMS Kent during the Second World War, including Operation Mascot, an attempt to destroy the German battleship Tirpitz. His 20 medals include the Royal Victoria Order, Knight Commander’s Neck Badge and Star, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and France’s Legion d’Honneur.
Ned Cowell, a militaria specialist at Woolley & Wallis, commented on the significance of the collection: ‘His collection of Royal Christmas cards from 1953 to 1989 provide a fascinating record of the first half of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. It is interesting to look at the cards and see how the photos chosen evolve over the near 40-year period.’
