From messages from the future Queen Elizabeth II during the Second World War to the battalion for which she worked as a mechanic, to more informal shots of Kate and William, passing through Diana and Charles in the 1980s: the most beautiful Christmas cards of the British royal family over the decades.

While the custom of exchanging gifts during the holidays dates back to the ancient Romans, Christmas cards , as we know them today, have a much more recent origin. The first official postcard was conceived in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole in Victorian England , and designed by artist John Callcott Horsley. This card depicted a family reunited in celebration and scenes of charity, with the aim of spreading the Christmas spirit and making it easier to send greetings at a time when postal service was becoming increasingly accessible—just three years earlier, the first postage stamp in history had been invented.

<h5 class="hero__title" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/lifestyle/regali-di-natale-2024-economici-idee-particolari-donna-uomo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read also: &quot;10 super original last-minute Christmas gifts (if you&#39;ve run out of ideas)&quot;</a></h5>

And so soon the <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/royal-family-titoli-nobiliari-cosa-significano-ruoli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British royal family</a> also took up the habit of sending Christmas cards, which, more than a century after the first, have become a consolidated tradition of British Christmas, aesthetically reflecting the changes within the family and in English society. If in the 1940s, the future Queen <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/the-crown-6-gioielli-tiara-elisabetta-ii-lady-diana-royal-family-serie-tv-netflix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elizabeth II</a> sent postcards to the Grenadier Guards - the regiment for which she served during the Second World War as a driver and mechanic -, expressing her support during the war, in the 1980s, Prince Charles and <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/lady-diana-elizabeth-debicki-stile-look-the-crown-stagione-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Princess Diana</a> shared family pictures with little William and Harry , in perfect Eighties style. With the new millennium, the postcard style has become more informal, with more candid shots reflecting a contemporary image of the monarchy. For Christmas 2024 , <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/william-kate-anniversario-di-matrimonio-10-anni-nuove-foto-storia-amore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">William and Kate</a> chose a family photo taken at their Norfolk residence, conveying a message of resilience and hope, based on the <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/kate-middleton-ha-il-cancro-annuncio-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> Kate <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/pop-culture/kate-middleton-ha-il-cancro-annuncio-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broadcast on the BBC last summer at the end of her chemotherapy treatments</a> . Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan opted for a digital postcard featuring images of their family in California, emphasizing the value of connection during the holidays.

For Christmas 2025, King Charles III and Queen Camilla have chosen a photograph taken in the gardens of Villa Wolkonsky, Rome, during their State Visit to Italy last April (Courtesy of The Royal Family)

The Royal Family's most beautiful Christmas cards: a journey through the decades

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The Royal Family's most beautiful Christmas cards: a journey through the decades