Who's Who at the Queen's Christmas Table? Get to Know the Lucky Royal Guests

He's not just the daddy, but the granddaddy and the great-granddaddy of the queen's brood, and it's been pointed out that technically he's more royal than his wife since the queen's mother didn't have royal blood, whereas Philip was part of the Greek and Danish Royal Families. Born on the Greek island of Corfu, Philip's family was exiled when he was very young and he was educated in Paris, England, Germany, and Scotland. He served in the navy during the Second World War, but gave up his military career when he married, and has been by the queen's side for 70 years.

One of his lasting achievements has been setting up the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program in 1956, which recognizes adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises that include volunteering, expeditions, and other physical challenges. Prince Philip also took on over 800 patronages, and has always managed his and the queen's private estates of Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House. Although he retired at the age of 96 in the Fall of 2017, he still made appearances at Remembrance Day events shortly afterward, and he won't want to miss church on Christmas Day.

Charles is the queen's eldest child and therefore heir to her throne. He served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, and has spent most of his 69 years championing environmental issues, winning international awards for his lifelong dedication. Charles set up The Prince's Trust in 1976 which runs training programs to help disadvantaged young people, and he is patron of over 420 charities. He undertakes several royal tours a year, and will increasingly accompany his mother to official events such as 2017's State Opening of Parliament, and represent her at others as he did at the Remembrance Day wreath-laying in 2017.

A relationship in his early twenties with Camilla Shand ended when he went to sea with the navy and she married her ex-boyfriend Andrew Parker-Bowles, but Charles and Camilla went on to have a complicated on-off relationship for the next twenty years, during which time he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had their two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, before separating in 1992. Camilla then became Charles's constant companion and they married in 2005.

Charles has also built a town in Dorset called Poundbury according to his architectural beliefs, has written books on architecture and organic farming, and brought out a range of organic produce called Duchy Originals.

Camilla turned 70 in 2017 and shares five children and two grandchildren with her ex-husband Andrew Parker-Bowles – her son Tom is Prince Charles's godson, and her daughter Laura's own daughter Eliza was bridesmaid for William and Kate. Camilla has had a checkered history within the Royal Family because of her on-off relationship with Prince Charles, but has become a much-loved member of the family who has good relationships with them all now, including

the Queen, Prince William and Prince Harry, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

Camilla has around 100 patronages, and specializes her charity work in a few key areas. She has been patron of the National Osteoporosis Society since 1997 (her mother and grandmother both passed away from the illness), and has won awards for her work in that field. Camilla also focuses her attention on survivors of rape and sexual abuse, and animal welfare. She herself owns two rescue dogs.

Prince William, 35, is second in line to the British throne, after his father Prince Charles. His mother died when he was 15, and he has since become the patron of Child Bereavement UK. He met his future wife Kate Middleton at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland where he studied Geography, and after a ten-year relationship which included

two break-ups, they married in 2011. He is father to Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and his third child is due in April.

William worked for nearly five years as a Search and Rescue pilot in Wales, and two years as an Air Ambulance Pilot in Cambridge, before becoming a full-time royal in 2017. Along with his wife and brother Prince Harry, he heads up the charity The Royal Foundation, which focuses predominantly on environmental issues, young people, and veterans. He likes to dance.

Kate Middleton had a relatively normal upbringing for a royal bride, living in the Berkshire countryside, focusing on her studies and her passion for sports. She received criticism over how much work she undertook during her relationship with William after they finished university, but quietly took a photography course and worked for her parents' party-planning business. Since becoming an HRH she has focused on early intervention and mental health issues, and has helped establish the charity The Royal Foundation with Prince William and Prince Harry. She’s expecting her third child in April, but before then all eyes will be on her and William's forthcoming Scandinavian mini-tour to Sweden and Norway in January 2018.

Four-year-old Prince George is in his first year of school, and played a sheep in his first Nativity Play. The third in line to the throne appeared on a postage stamp with his father Prince William, grandfather Prince Charles, and great-grandmother the queen to mark her 90th birthday in 2016, and was page boy to his aunt Pippa Middleton in 2017. He's sure to repeat his duties for uncle Prince Harry in May 2018. George is also a veteran of three royal tours with his parents: Australia and New Zealand in 2014, Canada in 2016, and Poland and Germany in 2017.

Fifth in line for the throne, Prince Harry has always had more freedom than his brother William and earned himself a reputation as a rebel during his teenage years — but he now channels his energies into his philanthropic work. His passion for Africa has led him to undertake several stints of conservation work in Botswana and Malawi, while as well as the Royal Foundation he also set up the charity Sentebale, helping the children of Lesotho who are affected by HIV/AIDS.

Harry has been on two charity treks – one in the Arctic and one in the Antarctic – and has also set up the Invictus Games, which will celebrate its fourth event in Sydney 2018. He is a qualified helicopter pilot, and served ten years in the armed forces, including two tours of Afghanistan. He will marry American actress Meghan Markle in May 2018, and so this year there will be another chair added to the queen's Christmas table.

It has been confirmed that Meghan Markle will be at the queen's Christmas lunch this year, and Harry's bride-to-be has now fully swapped California sunshine for England's green and pleasant land ahead of her May 2018 wedding. Meghan has plenty in common with other members of the family – she has lived in Canada for seven years, so is likely to bond with Canadian Autumn Phillips, is a yoga fan like Kate, and owns rescue dogs like Camilla. She'll fit right in!

Prince Charles’s younger sister has always worn her royal status lightly and kept away from many of the trappings of royal life, but when it comes to her duties, she has always been one of the hardest-working members of the family. She is the only one of her siblings not to attend university, instead going straightinto life as a full-time working royal. She is now patron of over 200 charities, and is especially affiliated with Save the Children, of which she has been president since 1970. She was also a champion three-day eventer, and The Festival of British Eventing is held at her estate Gatcombe Park every year.

Princess Anne married fellow equestrian Mark Phillips in 1973 and had two children, Peter and Zara. She chose for them not to have royal titles. Her marriage broke up in the late 1980s and she struck up a friendship with the queen’s equerry, Timothy Laurence. Their friendship was made public when letters written by Timothy to the princess were stolen in 1989, and they married three years later.

Anne was the subject of a kidnap attempt in 1974 where her protection officer, chauffeur, and two passersby who came to her aid all got shot, but they made a recovery and were honored for their bravery. When her mother acceded to the throne, Anne was second in line after brother Charles, but at the age of 67 she now stands at number 12.

Timothy dedicated his life to a distinguished career in the Royal Navy before working his way over to the Ministry of Defense. Three years after becoming an equerry to the queen in 1986 he struck up a friendship with Princess Anne, and they married in 1992 at the church in the grounds of the queen's Balmoral estate. He was made a "Sir" by the queen in 2011, and although he doesn't take on royal duties, he appears at Remembrance Events and Trooping the Colour.

Savannah became the queen’s first great-grandchild in 2010, and Isla arrived soon after in 2012. They were either too young or not born yet at the time of William and Kate’s wedding, but could well be called on for bridesmaid duties for Harry and Meghan’s big day. The girls are currently 14th and 15th in line to the throne.

Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's daughter, was named by her uncle Prince Charles and has also always been close to her cousins William and Harry — she is just a year older than William and three years older than Harry. William was even filmed chasing her around the Archbishop of Canterbury’s legs at Harry’s christening in 1984. Zara's godfather is Camilla Duchess of Cornwall's ex-husband Andrew, who is a former boyfriend of her mother, Princess Anne. Zara herself is godmother to Prince George.

Zara took after her mother and became a champion eventer, winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2005. She supports numerous charities focusing mainly on spinal injuries, equestrian organizations, and children's causes, and also designs a range of equestrian clothing named ZP176 – the team number she was given when she first represented her country.

Zara was introduced to rugby player Mike Tindall by her cousin Prince Harry in an Australian bar in 2003, and they married eight years later. Zara is mom to 3-year-old daughter Mia, and suffered a miscarriage in 2016. Zara is 16th in line to the throne.

During his career in rugby union, Mike played for Bath and Gloucester, as well as captaining the England team, and winning the World Cup in 2003 – the same year he met now-wife Zara. In recent years he has participated as a contestant on the TV show Bear Grylls: Mission Survive, and is ambassador for several sporting charities.

Three year old Mia is six months younger than Prince George, and made everyone go "awww!" when she posed with her great-grandmother the queen’s iconic handbag in a photo released to celebrate the monarch's 90th birthday in 2016. Mia is 17th in line to the throne, and also a hot contender for a bridesmaid role at Harry and Meghan's wedding.

Andrew chose to go into the navy like his father and older brother, and served in the Falklands War. He dated actress, model, and photographer Koo Stark in the early 1980s before marrying Sarah Ferguson in 1986, and they went on to have two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. After serving as a member of the armed forces for over 20 years, Andrew was made Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, but after ten years he stepped down in light of his friendships with controversial individuals.

He now focuses on supporting the queen in her official duties, and there has been speculation that he and brother Prince Charles have disagreed over how much of a role Beatrice and Eugenie should have in royal life. Andrew is sixth in line to the British throne.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's oldest daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was at school, and after going public with her condition she became patron of the Helen Ariel Dyslexia Center. After graduating in History and History of Ideas, Princess Beatrice worked in New York with an investment company, and now works in business consultancy. She and her sister Eugenie have both accompanied their parents on charity engagements, and Beatrice was the first member of the family to take part in the London Marathon. She was an extra in the film The Young Victoria, and dated Virgin Galactic businessman Dave Clark for ten years before splitting in 2016. Beatrice is seventh in line to the throne.

Princess Eugenie is eighth in line to the throne, and is close with her cousins Prince William and Prince Harry – she was also a guest at Pippa Middleton's wedding. At the age of 12, Eugenie underwent back surgery to correct her scoliosis. She graduated in Art History, English Literature, and Politics, and lived in NYC for a year where she worked as a benefit auctions manager for an online auction house. She now works as an associate director at Hauser & Wirth art gallery.

It was Eugenie who acted as matchmaker between Prince Harry and his ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, and Eugenie herself has been in a relationship with wine merchant Jack Brooksbank for six years. She sparked engagement rumors last year when she was photographed with a ring on the third finger of her left hand.

Before Kate married William, all the talk of a royal marrying a "commoner" was reserved for Edward and his bride. Sophie is the daughter of a car tire salesman and a secretary, and when she met Edward she was working in PR, later setting up her own agency. After marrying Edward in 1999 and becoming a full-time member of the royal family, Sophie gave birth to daughter Louise prematurely due to placental abruption, and underwent an emergency caesarean in 2003. Sophie gave birth to son James four years later.

Sophie is often said to be a favorite of the queen's – they go horse-riding together, and it was reported that the queen watched at least some of the first season of The Crown after Sophie and Edward recommended it to her.

When Edward and Sophie married, they decided to forgo the HRH title for their children, so they are styled after the daughter and son of an earl, and not a prince. Louise was born with esotropia (a condition when one or both eyes turn inward) but her vision was corrected in 2013 at the age of ten. Louise was bridesmaid to William and Kate when they married, and she is 11th in line to the throne.

James, 10, is the youngest of the queen’s grandchildren. He is 10th in line to the throne ahead of older sister Louise, because the laws of succession that changed in 2012 are not pre-dated, so the old rules apply to all members of the family who were born before the changes were made.