Who is sitting at the King’s Christmas table? How Camilla’s family are among the 40 or so guests invited to this year’s celebratory knees-up at Sandringham… while Harry and Meghan stay in the US

Queen Camilla’s family will be among 40 guests invited to this year’s Christmas dinner at Sandringham, while Harry and Meghan are expected to remain in the US.

In a major break with Christmas tradition, senior members of the royal family will be joined by Camilla’s children, grandchildren and sister at Sandringham House in Norfolk for the festive celebrations.

This differs from previous years, where Camilla left Sandringham in the afternoon to host Christmas dinner with her own family at Ray Mill, her home in Wiltshire.

Although no official guest list has been announced, this year’s event is expected to be bigger than ever, meaning the Christmas lunch will be moved from the traditional dining room to the ballroom.

Queen Camilla’s son Tom, her daughter Laura and their spouses are expected to attend this year. The Queen’s five grandchildren – Lola, Freddy, Eliza and twins Gus and Louis – will also join in for the Christmas meal.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry will remain in the US with Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet – despite recent hopes of a thaw in relations between King Charles and his youngest son.

The future King and Queen pictured in 2022 with the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Photo: The Royals on Christmas Day last year)

Queen Camilla is believed to have invited her two children Tom Parker Bowles, 48, and Laura Lopes, 45, and her five grandchildren to Christmas at Sandringham for the first time (pictured in 2018)

The Norfolk estate has been the site of the Royals’ Christmas celebrations for many years

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church last year

Camilla’s family will join senior members of the royal family, including Prince William and Princess Catherine and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

The Sussexes even said they would accept an invitation to Sandringham this Christmas, it was reported.

King Charles is believed to be ‘very close’ to Camilla’s side of the family, with her three grandsons being her pages at the coronation, alongside her second cousin.

Camilla’s relatives will join senior members of the royal family, including Prince William and Princess Catherine and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Anne, Princess Royal and her husband Timothy Laurence are also expected to attend, alongside Anne’s son Peter Phillips and his daughters Savannah and Isla.

Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall will also be there with their three children: Mia, Lena and Lucas.

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, his wife Sophie and their children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex should also be present at the table – as well as Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Princess Beatrice attended the event last year with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, his son Christopher and their daughter Sienna.

Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, will attend with their two young sons, August and Ernest.

Prince William and Princess Kate will join the King and Queen at Sandringham on December 25, along with other senior members of the Royal Family

Princess Beatrice attends the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on December 25, 2022

The Duke of York attended the morning church service on Christmas Day last year

Princess Charlotte and Prince George during the Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, Norfolk last year

Camilla’s sister, Annabel Ellio, will also join her sister at Sandringham House. She is one of the ‘Queen’s Companions’, formerly known as ‘Ladies in Waiting’.

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson are believed to be staying at Wood Farm on the Norfolk estate. Although she and Prince Andrew have been divorced since 1996, the pair remain close friends and now jointly care for the late Queen’s Corgis, Muick and Sandy.

It has not been confirmed whether Fergie, who is carving out a new career for herself as a suffering aunt after an entertaining stint on ITV’s This Morning, will definitely be invited to Sandringham, but she will likely want to be with her grandchildren on the big day.

This year, Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, welcomed their second son Ernest into the world, who was born at the end of May.

It meant Fergie became a grandmother for the fourth time as she also has a step-grandson, Wolfie Mapelli Mozzi, seven, granddaughter Sienna Mapelli Mozzi, two, and August Brooksbank, three.

The royal festivities begin when everyone arrives on Christmas Eve. The family will open presents, some of which will be gag presents – one of the royal family’s traditions.

The family will then attend Christmas morning services at St Mary Magdalene Church, where crowds always gather to see the royals.

Once they get home, a Christmas lunch is served, followed by games in the afternoon.

Last Christmas the royals experienced their biggest change in decades as they celebrated their first festive period without Queen Elizabeth II, who had died just a few months earlier.