Royal Watch News

Duchess Catherine's parents to attend royal Christmas bash

Dec 20, 2012, 12:02 GMT

Queen Elizabeth

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has invited Duchess Catherine's parents to celebrate Christmas with them.

The 86-year-old monarch has broken with tradition and extended an invitation to Carole and Michael Middleton to join the royal family at their annual Christmas gathering at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, East Anglia.

By including non-royals for the first time, the queen hopes her grandson Prince William's wife - who is struggling with acute morning sickness during her pregnancy - will join in the celebrations 'despite this difficult time'.

The duchess has only been seen out in public three times since being discharged from King Edward VII hospital in London, where she was put on a drip to restore nutrients lost due to her hyperemesis gravidarum.

Catherine recently made a surprise appearance at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, where she revealed she was feeling 'very well'.

The 30-year-old beauty then attended a low-key festive lunch two days later with 27 members of their staff at Bumpkin restaurant in London's Notting Hill neighborhood.

The queen hosted her annual Christmas lunch yesterday at Buckingham Palace, which was attended by Catherine. The annual bash is a celebration for the family members she doesn't have enough room for at her Sandringham estate party.