Christmas for the royal family will look a little different this year, as the King shakes up decades-old traditions – including making space at the dining table for his blended family.

Vanity Fair reports that the Queen’s children – Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes – were again invited to join the wider royal family at Sandringham.

“Invitations went out months ago, and we do know the King loves a big family Christmas,” Majesty editor magazine Ingrid Seward told Vanity Fair.

“Last year, the Queen’s children and grandchildren were invited, and that’s a new tradition the King has started.”

In further proof the royals are just like the rest of us, they have a few more tricky family issues to resolve on Christmas Day – including who hosts disgraced Uncle Andrew and the empty seats for estranged son Harry and his family.

Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and honours in October amid the controversy surrounding his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Seward said the former prince Andrew’s eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was at Sandringham last year.

“She then left after church and went for lunch with Sarah [Ferguson] and Andrew [Mountbatten-Windsor] at Royal Lodge. I think the King has been keen to show his support to his nieces during a difficult year for the York family,” she said.

It’s not known where Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor will spend the day. They could be together at his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, for one last festive feast before he has to vacate it.

Harry and Meghan, with children Archie and Lilibet, are expected to remain in California for Christmas.

Also missing on Thursday will be the King’s younger son, Prince Harry, and his family. He and wife Meghan Markle have not joined the royals for Christmas since 2018, after they quit royal duties for a move to North America.

But heir-to-throne Prince William will be there, with wife Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. They reportedly usually split their day, spending the afternoon with the Princess of Wales’ Middleton family at nearby Anmer Hall.

Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and their children, and Princess Anne and her family, are all also expected to attend.

“Sandringham is smaller than the other palaces and so it’s always a bit of a squash but it’s always fun and very Christmassy, and very family focused,” Seward said.

“The King loves bringing everyone together and it’s a proper family Christmas. There’s a fair bit of juggling involved, particularly for the Wales family. I expect William, Kate and the children will be at Sandringham for the Christmas Day service alongside Charles because that’s an important show of togetherness.”

The royals will gather at Sandringham House for Christmas. Photo: AAP

‘Relaxed’ Christmas Day

Among other changes in his third year as monarch, the King has also relaxed the festive period dress code from his mother’s days, a royal insider says.

“It used to be a nightmare going to Sandringham because there used to be so many outfit changes, sometimes up to six a day. But the King has relaxed that,” they said.

“But everyone will wear black tie at Christmas dinner.”

The royals eat their main Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Gifts, which are laid out on trestle tables, are exchanged after that – although there have also been more changes here.

“Presents are always very practical. It’s probably a bit more lavish these days. Charles is very extravagant, rather like his late grandmother, the Queen Mother. The [late] queen was pretty frugal,” a source told Vanity Fair.

As well as gifts for family there are some for household staff.

“He used to give a dinner service, matching plates, side plates and so on, but he would give bits of it at a time, so you would get the full collection if you stayed in service long enough,” the source said.

But the royal family reportedly exchange presents focusing on humour and inside jokes.

“Princess Anne once gave Charles a doormat”, the source said, to much laughter. Some years ago, the Princess Royal is also said to have given her brother a white, leather toilet seat “so he had his own personal throne to sit on while waiting to become king”.

The Wales will split their Christmas Day between the royals and Kate’s family. Photo: Getty

Prince William is said to dislike the ceremony of joke gifts, which are handed out “in strict order of royal seniority”, the Daily Mail reports – meaning it is one more Christmas tradition whose days are numbered.

“While William’s mind is on much bigger changes than just the trestle table, it’s well known to be one of those antiquated traditions that he’s never really taken to,” a royal source said.

“You can expect that to be one of the first things to go when he eventually hosts his first Sandringham Christmas.”

After lunch, the family gathers in front of the royal TV set to watch the King’s speech.

After Boxing Day, the King and Queen head to Scotland to welcome in the New Year, which has become their own tradition.