Strict Christmas dinner rule George, Charlotte and Louis have to follow until they get older
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There's one strict royal dinnertime rule that doesn't even let up for Prince George, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis over Christmas. Every year, the entire extended Royal Family gets together at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle for a special Christmas dinner to kick off the festive period. It's one of the royals' many traditions across the month of December, like celebrating Christmas Day at the Sandringham Estate.
A former staff member has described one royal custom in particular as quite 'Victorian' in nature. It concerns the pinnacle of the annual celebrations - Christmas dinner itself - and it's followed by Prince William and Princess Kate's three children, George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six.
As per tradition at formal dinners, the children are seated separately from the adults. The rule was revealed to have been in place during the late Queen Elizabeth's reign and was enforced even for special occasions like Christmas. Former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the royals for 15 years, previously spoke out about it.
The chef told Harpers Bazaar that the royal children wouldn't be allowed to join the grown-ups until they were older and had "learned the art of polite conversation". Speaking to Hello Magazine, McGrady also said: "The children always ate in the nursery until they were old enough to conduct themselves properly at the dining table".
He added that "for the Queen, there was never a case of putting a high chair at the table with a little baby squealing and throwing food. It was Victorian. The children's place was in the nursery and Nanny would take care of them". McGrady added: "It's your modern-day Downton Abbey.".
