Cooking with the Cambridges! Kensington Palace recently confirmed that Prince William and Duchess Kate will join Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry for an upcoming holiday special.
The festive program, A Berry Royal Christmas, will follow the trio across four separate engagements in the United Kingdom as they show their appreciation for several charitable organizations and the people who work for them. The special is scheduled to air on BBC One on Monday, December 16.
Ahead of the show’s debut, the Kensington Palace Instagram account shared several snapshots of the group hard at work. In one photo, William and Kate, both 37, stand beside 2015 Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and Berry, 84, while holding some seemingly homemade holiday creations. The duchess is wearing a very holiday-appropriate red and white dress, while William is sporting pants and a matching sweater.
That picture, in which the royals seem very pleased with their treats, was taken at a Christmas party thrown by Berry and the couple to thank and acknowledge staff and volunteers from charities and organizations who will be working tirelessly over the Christmas period.
In another snapshot, Berry joins Kate at the Wisley Garden in Surrey, England, to learn more about her commitment to raising the next generation of happy, healthy children. The photo shows Kate, who is mom to Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 19 months, frosting a cupcake while the GBBO judge looks on approvingly.
As part of the special, Berry also joined William at The Passage, the UK’s largest resource center for homeless and insecurely housed people. Thus far, the foundation has helped over 130,000 people in crisis through its resource center, homelessness prevention projects and two innovative accommodation services.
While William and Kate are already making an effort to give back this holiday season, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are taking a different approach to Christmas this year. Instead of spending the holiday with the royal family, the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 38, are planning on a “small Christmas with just immediate family.”
A source told Us Weekly exclusively last month that the new parents are looking to spend 6-month-old son Archie’s first holiday with Meghan’s side of the family instead. “As it’s Archie’s first Christmas, they want it to be super special,” the insider explained. “It’ll be just Doria [Ragland, Meghan’s mother] and the three of them. The drama surrounding the couple has caused a huge amount of stress. They’re making their family their No. 1 priority right now.”
Though Buckingham Palace’s official statement regarding Harry and Meghan’s holiday plans noted that the couple have “the support of Her Majesty the Queen,” a separate source told Us the monarch is “disappointed” by the couple’s decision to spend Christmas away from the royal family.
