It seems to me like the only good thing about an office Christmas party is the open bar. Generally, isn’t that the case? Why would you spend an evening with all of your work colleagues unless there was free booze involved? Well, for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, that wasn’t exactly the case. I still don’t know what Will and Kate were celebrating last month, when they seemed to throw themselves a “lavish” party with their royal foundation’s funds. But this week, they also sort-of hosted a real Christmas party for their Kensington Palace staffers. The party was held at Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill. The establishment had just lost their liquor license, so the party was BYOB (bring your own booze).

It seems even members of the Royal family aren’t immune from throwing parties during the Christmas season. Wednesday night, Prince William and Kate were spotted leaving Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill after it was hired out by Kensington Palace for their annual festive bash. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle, with Prince Charles also believed to have made an appearance. The Palace hired out the venue’s upstairs ballroom for their annual Christmas party and paid an estimated £110 a head to cater for 60 guests.

But according to a source, party-goers had to bring their own alcohol due as the restaurant had recently had its licence revoked. Diners quaffed on three courses starting with a choice of salmon, avocado vignette, and wild mushroom soup before tucking into a choice of five main courses. For dessert, guests chose from Christmas pudding, chocolate cake and cheesecake. The ballroom at Beach Blanket Babylon can be rented out for around £6,500 on a weekday evening before Christmas, which covers food and soft drinks.

The royal couple were seen leaving in their Range Rover by a grotty dustbin exit towards the end of the celebrations. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly left much earlier, according to a source.

[From The Daily Mail]

Well, at least the staffers were fed on someone else’s dime. Who paid for the party again? My guess is Prince Charles paid for it. But considering these people are staffing royalty, I think £6,500 to rent out a private ballroom (with the meal included) sounds like a nice “treat” for Christmas. Even if those staffers did have to smuggle in bottles of tequila, vodka, gin, Scotch and a lot more. No booze for pregnant Kate, but I bet William got sauced and showed everyone his super-cool dad dancing again. Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry were there too? Meg’s meeting all of the behind-the-scenes people rather quickly, isn’t she?

Photos courtesy of WENN.