The Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales have released their Christmas card. It came out late Tuesday the 13th. It feels early to me, so I looked up when they released their card last year – on the 9th/10th of December. So… it’s not actually a conspiracy, right? They always release their cards around this time. It’s just that this year, Peg and Buttons wanted to get it out before Harry & Meghan Volume 2 drops on Netflix. Also: King Charles and Camilla released their Christmas card days ago, so this must be the week.

As for the card itself… the thing about William and Kate is that I don’t think either of them really has an artist’s eye? They wouldn’t know composition or style if it pulled on Kate’s doll wig. Any photographer worth a damn would say “hey, the image is slightly off because William is looking away and Louis is the only one without a toothy grin.” But whatever, it is what it is. At least this year’s card wasn’t from a photoshoot from a mysterious family vacation in Jordan (like last year’s). At least Kate did a better job of a color theme this time around. She does love a blue color story. She loves it when sh-t looks like a denim ad. (Hilariously, the Sussexes’ Christmas card last year was very denim-forward too, so the copykeening has now ventured into Christmas cards.)

Judging from the background solely, I also believe this was taken in Windsor and not Norfolk. Considering they’re supposed to be “living” at a four-bedroom cottage in Windsor, this must be one of the walking paths around the Royal Windsor Estate.

Here’s Charles and Camilla’s Christmas card. While the photo wasn’t taken during a holiday, at least it has a Christmas-y feel to it with Camilla in green and Charles in tweed. That’s something that is consistently off-putting about William and Kate’s Xmas cards – they rarely feel appropriately seasonal. The Waleses’ card looks too summery.

Christmas card image courtesy of Matt Porteous and Kensington Palace. Additional photos courtesy of ITV/KP, Instar and KP