See the Royal Family’s Christmas Cards Throughout History

When you’re the British royal family, your Christmas card mailing list isn’t just family friends and neighbors—it’s an entire country. And now, thanks to social media, the whole world. So, some haphazard photo from a family vacation or college graduation? Not going to cut it.

Fortunately, with a more than century-old tradition of sending out holiday cards, they’ve got plenty of practice. Take 1914, when Princess Mary sent out a demure picture of herself alongside the message “with best wishes for a Happy Christmas and Victorious New Year,” as a part of a gift tin for soldiers, or 1942, when the then-Princess Elizabeth sent out a card of herself in her wartime uniform. Fast forward 50 or so years, and there’s a black and white photograph of an eye-liner heavy Princess Diana and her sons, William and Harry.

Come 2024, the next generation of royals put their own spin on the time-honored tradition. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a digital card with several photos, including one that shows their young family in Montecito, California. Meanwhile, the Wales family shared a poignant family photo originally taken during Kate Middleton's emotional announcement that she had completed chemotherapy.

Below, click through the history of British royal Christmas cards.