How does King Charles spend Christmas at Sandringham?Vanity Fair

With Andrew Mountbatten Windsor off the guest list, a relaxed dress code and new traditions under way, this Christmas will look a little different for the royal family.

Christmas at Sandringham will look different this year thanks to some senior royals and traditions, as well as some new royal traditions introduced by King Charles.

Notable absentees from the royal family's traditional Christmas gathering include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who will spend Christmas in Montecito, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal title and banned from joining the royal family this year.

But while the Andrew saga has been a headache for King Charles this year, it means more room at the Christmas table for other members of the family.Vanity Fair understands that Charles has invited Queen Camilla's children and their families, as well as his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.(But according to Camilla's son, Tom Parker Bowles, she and her sister Laura will not be spending Christmas at Sandingham.)

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, said: "The invitations were sent out a few months ago and we know the King loves a big family Christmas.

"Beatrix was there last year. Then she left the church and came to lunch with Sarah [Ferguson] and Andrew at the Royal Moor. I think the King was trying to support his nieces in a difficult year for the York family."

Although it is not known where Andrew and Ferguson will spend Christmas, they may be together at the Royal Lodge for the last Christmas before Andrew leaves his home in Windsor.

Meanwhile, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are expected to meet the King and Queen at Sandringham. Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children, and Princess Anne and her family are also expected to attend.

"Sandringham Palace is smaller than the other palaces, so it's always a bit crowded, but it's always fun, very Christmas-loving and very family-oriented," Seward added.

"The King loves to get everyone together and it's a good family Christmas. There's a bit of juggling involved, especially for the Welsh family. I hope William, Kate and the children will be at Sandringham for the Christmas Day service with Charles because that's an important show of unity. In previous years, they've returned to Anmer after church on Christmas Day to have lunch with Kate's family on Christmas Day."

While the traditional Christmas Day walk after church sees members of the royal family greet members of the public in their best (hats required), Charles has relaxed the dress code at Sandringham during the festivities, according to a royal insider.

"Going to Sandringham was a nightmare because there were so many changes of clothes, sometimes up to six a day. But the King made it easy. There aren't many changes, but everyone wears black tie to Christmas dinner," the source said.

According to an old tradition, a royal Christmas dinner (turkey and all the trimmings) is held on Christmas Eve. Gifts are placed on trestle tables, and Christmas tables are decorated with Christmas crackers and other festive items.

"The trestle table is set up and the gifts are decorated with name tags. Children's gifts go under the tree and there are always funny gifts. Once at Christmas, Princess Anne gave Charles a card and he laughed. Gifts are always very useful. These days he can be a bit extravagant. Charles is extravagant, like Grandma Queen. Thrifty added.

Along with gifts for family members, there will also be gifts for the servants of the king's household.

"He used to give dinners, matching plates, side plates and so on, but he would give them all at once, so if you stayed in the service long enough, you'd get the whole collection."

King Charles also follows his mother's tradition of giving Christmas pudding and, if the crew is lucky, a turkey.Charles also maintains the family's Boxing Day shooting tradition in honor of Sandringham, which was originally built as a shooting range.

But after Boxing Day, the King and Queen are heading to Scotland, just as they did last year and, in doing so, are creating a new tradition for themselves."They've been doing this for the past few years and it's become a tradition now. They enjoy seeing in the New Year in Scotland," says Seward.

Another tradition that has been closed is families gathering around the television to watch the King's Christmas speech on Christmas Day.The workers retire to their quarters as the royals gather in the evening to watch King Charles address the nation.