Members of the royal family have been invited to Buckingham Palace to attend the Queen's Pre-Christmas lunch.
  The monarch annually gathers her extended family members for the meal before leaving for Sandringham to celebrate the festive period until February.
  This year’s lunch is set to be particularly exciting as Prince Louis will be attending for the first time,
 as well as Princess Eugenie’s new husband Jack Brooksbank.
  Normally no pictures are released from inside the event but it is a time when the royals can get together and enjoy each other’s company during the festive period.
  The guests tend to be snapped when they drive themselves in and out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the festivities.
  So far,
 Prince Andrew,
 Princess Anne,
 Sophie,
 Countess of Wessex,
 and her daughter Lady Louise,
 and Autumn Phillips have been snapped on arrival.
  Prince Philip,
 97,
 looked smart in a black suit and blue patterned tie as he made his way to the festive feast with his wife,
 the UK's longest-serving monarch.
  The Duke of Edinburgh is rarely pictured in public after he retired from public duties in August last years.
  While Sophie,
 Countess of Wessex,
 looked in good spirits as she drove herself in to Buckingham Palace with her 14-year-old daughter,
 Lady Louise,
 alongside her.
  Last year’s Christmas lunch was a first for Meghan Markle following the announcement of her engagement to Prince Harry.
  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are due to attend the pre-Christmas lunch before spending the holidays with the royals at Sandringham and then seeing the Middletons in the days following.
  The royals will be able to admire there Queen’s three Christmas trees,
 which have been decorated with white lights and various regal decorations.
  A video shared by the Royal Family's Twitter account showed off the trees and said: "It's officially Christmas at Buckingham Palace!"
