Prince Louis continues to be the gift that keeps on giving.
Case in point? For the first time ever, the 4-year-old joined parents Kate Middleton and Prince William as well as siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte for the royal family's annual Christmas walk at Sandringham Dec. 25. And, it should come as no surprise that he stole the show.
Dressed in a navy jacket, shorts and knee socks, Louis held his mom's hand as they walked to church services. And while the Princess of Wales greeted members of the public, the young royal was photographed trying to tug her along.
Louis wasn't the only one to step out in style, either. While William and George, 9, looked dapper in navy suits, Kate and Charlotte, 7, made statements in olive and cranberry coats, respectively. Throughout the procession—which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic—the family walked behind King George III and Queen Consort Camilla as they all headed into St. Mary Magdalene.
Indeed, it was a true family affair. While Princess Beatrice arrived alongside with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and stepson Christopher Woolf, Princess Eugenie walked with husband Jack Brooksbank. (Beatrice's 15-month-old daughter Sienna and Eugenie's son August, 10 months, were likely too young to make an appearance.) Plus, Prince Andrew, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips were also in attendance.
This year marks the family's first Christmas without Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September at age 96. But her presence is—and will always be—felt.
In a pre-recorded address from St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the monarch was laid to rest, King Charles paid tribute to his mother. "Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones," he said. "We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition."
"In the much-loved carol ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem' we sing of how ‘in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.'" the 74-year-old continued. "My mother's belief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also her faith in people and it is one which I share with my whole heart. It is a belief in the extraordinary ability of each person to touch, with goodness and compassion, the lives of others, and to shine a light in the world around them."
Keep reading to see how the royals are spending Christmas...