LONDON, UK — Britain's royal family released new Christmas cards on Saturday for King Charles III and Queen Camilla as well as Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, with their three children.
Charles and Camilla's card includes a photo of the couple inside the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace following his Coronation celebrations on May 6.
The black and white image for William and Kate's card has them posing with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Josh Shinner, who photographed William and Kate's family, gave a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to photograph the royal family.
"It was such a pleasure to photograph The Prince and Princess of Wales and their family for the Christmas portrait this year," Shinner wrote in an Instagram caption. "Without doubt one of the most relaxed and enjoyable sittings I’ve ever had, and I now have a whole new set of jokes that are right on my level thanks to the children…
Kensington Palace also shared a new video Monday highlighting the work of charities supporting young families during Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. The video features the Princess of Wales and her three children packing gift bags for kids in need this holiday season.
Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5, run among shelves of donations selecting toys, clothes and books to fill bags for children their own age in the video released Monday by Kensington Palace. The video was filmed last month at The Baby Bank in Maidenhead, about 6 miles from the family’s home in Windsor, west of London.
The use of food banks and so-called baby banks, which collect clothes, supplies and furniture for children in need, has grown in recent years as high inflation and government spending cuts have widened the gap between rich and poor in Britain.
A report released Sunday by the Centre for Social Justice concluded that the gulf between mainstream society and those stuck in poverty would soon rival that of the Victorian era. The study also found that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic had a “catastrophic effect on the nation’s social fabric.’’
Princess Catherine, more widely known as Kate, is a long-standing supporter of baby banks and has promoted programs for young children because of the lasting impact that early intervention can have later in life.
