Six of the best (and worst) royal Christmas cards in history

As King Charles and Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales reveal their 2023 cards, let's look back at the best, worst and most downright bizarre of yesteryear. Featuring elephants, speedboats — and distinctly unfestive Covid masks...

Three of the best

2017: Good Christmas cards should make you smile, or sometimes even chuckle. Queen Elizabeth II, so used to shaking the hands of dignitaries, is by contrast shown here feeding a banana to an elephant. Prince Philip, wearing a wry smile beside her, would have no doubt had some quip to make. Humour is rare in Christmas cards, but it’s welcome. I particularly enjoy it when the royals show their sense of humour — they let down their formal guard and we see a more human side to them.

1969: This is fun because it’s so informal. Everyone is windswept and some of them aren’t looking at the camera, but they are interacting with one another — they look genuinely caught off-guard. There’s a Riviera elegance to the photo too. And there’s always something regal about beautiful boats.

2018: Warm, optimistic and positive. And, cheeringly, there are no suits here — instead, they are dressed much as any family going out for a walk would be (albeit after an immaculate blow-dry). It’s casual and natural, but what makes it is the lighting: that amazing sunlight gives the family a glow.

Three of the worst

2017: An excessively formal setup — the Wales family are effectively in uniform, giving the image the feel of a school photo. Their 2018 card is much more fun and playful.

2020: It’s hard to tell whether this is an illustration or a painterly filter, but either way, this doesn’t work well from a design perspective. I prefer to commission illustrations that are either abstract or funny. This is a halfway house, meaning you get none of the benefits of either style.

2021: I had to double-check whether this was actually a Christmas card. It is — but an awkward one. Even during the pandemic, face masks and Covid were the last things anyone wanted to be reminded of. Was it a nudge to socially distance? If so, it was hardly a festive sentiment.

- Written by Taymoor Atighetchi for Daily Telegraph UK and republished here with permission