Duchess Camilla isn’t letting a global pandemic stop her from spreading a little holiday cheer.
The royal moved her annual Christmas tree decorating event online for the first time this year due to the coronavirus. The festive occasion is typically held at her and Prince Charles‘s home, Clarence House, and is attended by the children and families supported by her patronage, the Helen and Douglas House children’s hospice—the world’s first children’s hospice, opened in 1982. During the event on December 16, Camilla told the families, “We have to make the best of it.” The Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales’s official Twitter account shared a video of the remote affair on Monday, writing, “Christmas is coming…Keen to continue her annual tradition, The Duchess of Cornwall has had a little virtual help from children supported by @HelenAndDouglas House Hospice to decorate the Clarence House Christmas tree.”
Prior to this digital event, the royal family had briefly returned to hosting in-person engagements. Just two weeks ago, Camilla visited the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to officially open the new kennels by unveiling a plaque with the help of her Jack Russell terrier, Beth. But since then, large swathes of the U.K. have re-entered a strict lockdown after coronavirus cases doubled in London in just one week.
In the clip overlaid with CGI snow for an added dose of holiday spirit, Camilla says to the families gathered on Zoom, “I really miss having you all here. It’s not the same without you. It is one of the highlights of my year, the Christmas tree decorating. So we thought we had to do something to make it come to life today. So your very own special bauble with your name on it, we’re going to see it being hung on the Christmas tree behind.” The royal then allowed each child to direct a guardsman as to where they’d like their monogrammed ornament to be placed on the tree. She also sent a special gift bag to the homes of each guest. The Duchess concluded by telling all the families, “A very happy Christmas to you all, and let’s hope for a better new year. It’s lovely to see you all.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
— Inside the Always Online, All-Consuming World of Twin Flames Universe
— Rudy Giuliani’s Daughter, Caroline, on How to Accept That Trump Lost
— Carl Lentz, Ranin Karim, and Hillsong’s Unfurling Scandal
— Billie Eilish Shares How She Spent the Pandemic in Latest Time Capsule
— The Queen Says Goodbye to Her Beloved Dorgi, Vulcan
— Barack Obama on His Book, the Election, and What Actually Makes America Great
— How We Unmasked the Hollywood Con Queen Suspect
— From the Archive: Her Most Loyal Subjects, a History of the Queen’s Kennels
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.