Princess Kate and her family enjoyed a scenic trip to the Alps in France after Christmas, marking the end of a difficult year.
The Princess of Wales, 43, took to the ski slopes with husband Prince William and their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, as reported by The Mail on Sunday.
The overseas trip, which was also attended by the Middletons, is believed to have begun just days after the family enjoyed Christmas at Sandringham, hosted by the King.
As well as skiing on their French getaway, the family also spent time at a mountaintop restaurant, where staff said they appeared like any other “normal” family.
A member of staff revealed to The Mail on Sunday: “It was lovely to see Kate relaxing and enjoying herself. They looked like a normal English family, and a lot of people didn’t recognise them.”
They continued: “ It was not the first time we had seen them. They have been coming here for years. I think they love the area. We often see Kate’s sister Pippa as well.”
An onlooker added: “James was there with his wife and then Kate arrived with Charlotte and Louis. It seemed like a bit of a Middleton family knees-up. Everyone seemed to be really happy.
“There were no airs and graces and actually they seemed like any normal family enjoying a ski break. There were lots of laughs and the children were very polite.”
The onlooker also said the family did have security guards with them on the overseas trip.
No photographs have been released by the family of the holiday, with Kate’s brother James Middleton having only posted photos of himself, his wife and their son enjoying the mountains.
Last year, James did open up about the types of holidays the Middleton family went on when he was growing up, which included visiting the Alps.
In The Sunday Times, James said: “Holidays tended to be packing up the car and driving somewhere. My parents, sisters and I would visit different places in the Swiss Alps each summer, such as Les Masses, or we’d go to Avoriaz in France.
“Dad would find a mountain refuge where we’d have a rather sloppy soup-like meal for tea, but we were so hungry from a day of hiking that it tasted amazing. Then we would fall fast asleep in our bunk — we’d sleep on one long bunk, all five of us — surrounded by other walkers.
“The next day we’d wake up early, put our walking boots back on and continue our trek, ending up in another village.”
