The release of the card follows news that the family will not be attending a pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, but will be celebrating at Sandringham.

Prince William also described the past year as "brutal" due to health issues in the family, particularly Kate Middleton's battle with cancer.

The Prince and Princess of Wales recently shared their Christmas card on social media, with a heart-warming photo.

The photo shows the couple with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, a location that holds special meaning for the family.

The image, which was taken from a video Kate released in September, also pays tribute to Anmer Hall, the family's private residence, which became a refuge for the princess while she recovered from treatment earlier this year.

The inside message of the card offered warm wishes: "I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Merry New Year."

The caption of the social media post read: "Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas."

The unveiling of William and Kate's card came hours after it was revealed the family would not be attending the traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, William and Kate will celebrate the holiday with other members of the royal family at the Sandringham estate, continuing a long-standing tradition.

Kate, who has been making a slow return to public life after announcing in September that she had completed cancer treatment, was last seen with her family at Westminster Abbey on December 6 for her song 'Together at Christmas'.

Days later, during a visit to Picton Barracks in Wiltshire, William said he was looking forward to the holiday but was "not ready" for Christmas yet.

According to Daily Mailhe mentioned that the family will be celebrating at Sandringham with 45 relatives gathered in one room instead of the usual arrangements.

In a candid interview during his trip to South Africa last month, William reflected on his family's challenging year, describing it as "brutal".

When asked how the year has been, William admitted: "Honestly, it's been horrible. It's probably been the hardest year of my life. So trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really hard."

He added: "But I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my dad, because he dealt with the things that they did. But from a family point of view, it was, yeah, it was brutal."

In September, Kate shared a deeply personal video with her family to announce her return to public duties after completing a course of chemotherapy.

The video featured touching scenes of the Waleses and their children enjoying the outdoors, while Kate reflected on her cancer journey. She shared that her current focus is on "doing everything I can to stay cancer free."

Reflecting on the past nine months, which have been marked by her health struggles, Kate described the experience as "incredibly difficult for us as a family".

She acknowledged the complexity, fear and unpredictability of the cancer journey, explaining how it gave her "a new perspective on everything".

According to royal expert Grant Harrold, Kate may reach out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this Christmas season, perhaps even having a FaceTime call with them.

He continued: "I believe Catherine will reach out to Harry and Meghan to wish them a Merry Christmas and I think Harry and Meghan themselves may reach out."

"The thing about Christmas is that it's all about goodwill towards others, letting go of the past, forgetting the past, moving into the New Year," added Harrold, per GB News. "So if there's any point in the year where families are going to interact or touch base, it's going to be over Christmas – there's something magical about Christmas that brings families back together."

He concluded: "I'd like to think everyone will communicate, whether it's through text calls or FaceTime — I'd like to think FaceTime, but that's something we'll never know."