Royal Christmas cards have a touchy-feely look this year…See More

Royal Christmas cards have a touchy-feely look this year…See More

Maybe there was a memo sent round the royal households of Europe, but many of this year’s Christmas cards seem to have similar images of showing their families holding on to each other tenderly.

Touching, linking arms, holding hands, hugging, they’re all sending messages about how close they are to each other.

It’s like royal superglue has been applied, connecting them in these Christmas portraits. This is the era of the relatable royals.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have been leading the way, with a Christmas card showing a relaxed, informal family group cosying up to each other in the Norfolk countryside.

As with last year’s card, they’re continuing in a style that is far away from a stiff, formal portrait, showing a young family having fun together on a spring day, full of affection, dressed in jeans and jumpers.

Prince William has talked about making changes in his approach to the monarchy.

And this is projecting an image that they’re like any other family, with eye-lines not looking down on the viewer, literally down to earth, sitting on the grass.
Compare that to this 1969 Christmas card, which shows the royals laughing, smiling and gathered around a boat. Presumably this was meant to feel relaxed and modern.

But they’re fairly stiffly dressed, they’re all standing apart and it looks like they’ve just been presented a prize on a game show.