Buckingham Palace Shares Festive Time-Lapse Video of Christmas Tree Decorating

Buckingham Palace Shares Festive Time-Lapse Video of Christmas Tree Decorating

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Buckingham Palace!

On Friday, Buckingham Palace revealed that holiday decorating had commenced, sharing a festive video of workers lighting a Christmas tree at the palace where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip live.

“Royal Residences have been transformed for the festive season with the arrival of Christmas Trees, including this one at Buckingham Palace,” the tweet read.

In the clip, two men are seen wrapping an array of lights around a tree, sitting on a column before the palace’s red staircase.

The palace also shared a whimsical photo of a “magical 20-foot-high Nordmann Fir tree on display in St. George’s Hall” in Windsor Castle.

The castle also boasts over “20,000 twinkling lights.”

The holiday makeover comes just after Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, hosted children for her annual holiday party at the home she shares with husband Prince Charles. On top of serving a lunch of sausages and mash, the kids helped put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree. They even met Captain Ross of the Welsh Guards … and two of Santa’s reindeer!

“I think everybody should put on their coats and we’ll all trail along outside to see if we can find some more friends waiting for us,” Camilla told the children before heading out to see the animals, who wore harnesses with the names Dancer and Blitzen written on them.

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Camilla is a patron of both Helen & Douglas House and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. Helen & Douglas House cares for terminally ill children and their families in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties through medical, emotional and practical support, while Roald Dahl’s charity supports a network of more than 70 Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses across the U.K.

For the special occasion, Camilla looked festive in a red dress.

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth

“I want to thank all of you — the parents, the nurses, the carers and most of all these wonderful children,” Camilla, 72, told her guests. “I know sometimes it is probably not easy, but to see [the children] all here today looking so happy is a real treat for me.”

Earlier this week Camilla joined Kate Middleton, Prince William and Queen Elizabeth at a Buckingham Palace reception on Wednesday evening. The evening party is one of the highlights of the royal year and a pre-Christmas tradition. The Queen, 93, hosts around 1,000 guests for the white tie bash.

While the Royal Family continues to prepare for the most wonderful time of the year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are gearing up to celebrate the holiday in their own way.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are skipping the annual holiday festivities at Sandringham — including their public walk to church on Christmas morning — with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty

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“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Wednesday. “Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, Their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the Duchess’ mother Doria Ragland. This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen.”

The palace didn’t specify where they will be ringing in the holiday, but a source told PEOPLE that they will not be spending it in Meghan’s hometown of Los Angeles, where Doria lives.