The Royal Family will enjoy yet another Christmas at Sandringham this year, with Queen Elizabeth II on track to arrive at the Norfolk estate by Thursday this week. The Sandringham tradition is a staple for the Queen and her most senior family members, but theirs is not the only royal family to establish a Christmas getaway.

Luxembourg’s royals are the Grand Ducal family, which enjoys similar popularity in the country as the Windsors do in the UK.

Their Christmas traditions mirror those of Queen Elizabeth II, as family patriarch Grand Duke Henri also delivers a speech for the occasion.

Like the Queen, the Grand Duke looks back over the past year in his delivery and speaks about what lies ahead for Luxembourg.

However, the Grand Duke delivers his Christmas speech the day before the Queen, on Christmas Eve.

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After the speech airs, the family attends a special Christmas Eve mass, not unlike the UK’s Royal Family on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day itself, the family reportedly retires to a chalet in Switzerland, where they spend time relaxing and exchanging presents.

In the past, the family has fractured from the traditional celebration, choosing instead to spend time with the Grand Ducal spousal families elsewhere.

In 2017, Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife, Belgian-born Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, spent the holiday with Stephanie’s family in Belgium.

The situation is expected to be much the same in the UK this year, as several senior members of the Royal Family have announced they will spend Christmas away from Sandringham.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, revealed earlier this year they would spend their first Christmas with baby Archie Mountbatten separate from the rest of the Royal Family.

The couple confirmed the move in a statement, in which they said they received the Queen’s approval to miss out on Sandringham.

They are expected to spend the day at their Windsor residence of Frogmore Cottage, with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.

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Some Grand Ducal family members may choose to do the same next year, as they are expecting a new arrival in 2020.

The family announced Prince Guillaume, 38, and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie are expecting their first child next year.

The news came as a surprise to some, as the couple had indicated no plans to have a child in the past.

They released a statement on December 6 announcing the news, saying they were “immensely pleased” to welcome the child, a new heir to the Luxembourg throne.

The statement read: “Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are immensely pleased to announce that the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess are expecting their first child.

“The birth is scheduled for May.

“The Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess and the members of both families are delighted with the news and share their great joy.”

The couple marked the news with a selection of portraits taken in gardens of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg.

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