Exactly How the Royal Family Dresses For Christmas

In Sarah Ferguson's autobiography, she outlined the many changes of outfit that the Royal Family go through during Christmas Day at Sandringham, and first up during her time as an HRH was a long tweed skirt, blouse, and cardigan for breakfast.

Thirty years later, Kate's modern take would likely be something like the monochrome bouclé tweed Dolce & Gabbana mini skirt that she first wore to guest-edit The Huffington Post, and a second time for a visit to a women's prison. The first time around the duchess teamed the skirt with an ivory Reiss blouse, and the second time with a black turtleneck – both equally fitting for a plate of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, as well as for bundling up in a warm coat and heading off to the first church service of the day.

FYI: The Royal Family attends two services on Christmas morning. The first is low-key and private, when the queen takes communion, and the second is when the family dress in their finery and are joined by the local community.

After breakfast and the first church service of the day comes the biggie – for the public church service, royal women need to wear a dress or suit under a long coat, plus a hat. Since marrying into the Royal Family, Kate has attended two Christmas Day services at her parents' local church St. Mark's when she was staying with them in Berkshire, and four with the Royal Family at the St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen's Sandringham estate.

For the royal services Kate wore a plum coat from an independent dressmaker and matching Jane Corbett hat in 2011; a blue and green tartan Alexander McQueen coat and green Gina Foster hat in 2013; a brown tweed Moloh coat and brown Lock & Co hat in 2014, and a green Sportmax coat and matching Lock & Co hat, in 2015.

Lunch on Christmas Day calls for a daytime formal dress code, and Kate has a wardrobe packed with options. Her scarlet Alexander McQueen skater dress is a firm favorite with the duchess, and is the kind of style perfectly suited for a smart Christmas lunch.

Sarah Ferguson stated in her autobiography that for relaxing in the afternoon, post lunch she would wear: "a cotton shirt, perhaps even trousers, but definitely not jeans. If I were going out for a walk, it would be a long country jacket, a walking skirt, and either leather ankle boots or the old reliable walking shoes."

It's likely that the "no jeans" rule has changed since the 1980s, so denim, sweaters, puffas, Barbour jackets, and wellington boots are likely to be the weapons of choice to combat the biting winds of Norfolk for the younger members of the family like Kate.

For Christmas afternoon tea, the royal ladies opt for smart casual attire, so Kate's Ralph Lauren jumper dress would be a chic but cozy choice.

Christmas evening is a formal affair that calls for either a long straight gown or a full skirt plus beautiful jewelry. The late hour allows time for the requisite change of clothes, while some members of the family use the time to take a bath.