It was their first Christmas as a betrothed couple — but Prince William and Kate Middleton did not spend it together.

Kate was with her family in Berkshire, while William volunteered to be on call with his search-and-rescue squadron at RAF Valley on Anglesey.

It will probably be the last Christmas Kate will spend with mother Carole and father Michael — as next year she will be expected to be with the Royal Family.

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday held up their wedding as a symbol of hope.

In his Christmas sermon, he said: ‘It is certainly cause for celebration that any couple, let alone this particular couple, should want to embark on the adventure of Christian marriage.

‘In this coming year, we, as a society, might want to think through, carefully and imaginatively, why lifelong faithfulness and the mutual surrender of selfishness are such great gifts.’

William does not appear to have been called out on any rescue calls yesterday. It is traditional for unmarried forces personnel to work over Christmas so that others can be with their families.

The pair were not the only young couple missing. Newly engaged Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall are spending the festive season together in Gloucestershire.

After dating for seven years, Zara, 29, who is the Queen’s eldest granddaughter, and rugby player Mike, 32, announced their engagement on Wednesday to the delight of the Royal family.

— Daily Mail

Merry Tweetmas! Celebrities take to their Twitter pages to spread some Christmas cheer

It’s the one day of the year that they can forget about their celebrity duties and relax at home with their families.

But for some famous faces, Christmas wasn’t complete this year without an online update of their Yuletide comings and goings.

Some, including Jonathan Ross, just wanted to offer their best Christmas wishes to their fans and followers.

Others, such as Dannii and Kylie Minogue wanted to post a video message to everyone.

And some celebrities just wanted to show off their families and where they would be eating their turkey feast, just like Gordon Ramsay.

The celebrity chef and his family spent the day touring round some of his restaurants to visit his staff before stopping at Claridge’s for their Christmas dinner.

They started at the Savoy Grill where Ramsay posed with the kitchen staff for a picture to Tweet.

He wrote: ‘Merry Christmas from the amazing team @ The Savoy Grill, lunch is about to start xxx’

Then it was on to the York & Albany, his restaurant in Camden and where his children – daughters Megan, 12, Matilda, eight, and 10-year-old twins Jack and Holly – posed with Santa Claus, with Ramsay writing: ‘Kids with Santa @ The York&Albany , there slightly miffed he’s so fat , and sounds Australian ! X’

Pop star Kylie and her X Factor judge sister Dannii Minogue treated their faithful followers to a video message in which they sent their Christmas love, Kylie from London and Dannii from Melbourne.

— Daily Mail