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Ozzy Osbourne ‘hated’ Christmas and once drank 28 gallons of alcohol as the day drew near – as he died in July, this Christmas the first one his wife Sharon, and children will have to spend without him

Ozzy Osbourne “f***ing hated” Christmas – but his family are still struggling as the first holiday without him approaches. The late rocker once said he drank 28 gallons of alcohol to get through December as he disliked the festive period so much.

Speaking on I’m A Celeb in November, Jack Osbourne talked about getting close to Christmas without his father. He said: “The saving grace is, my dad hated Christmas.” He described his father as a “curmudgeon” and mimicked his father’s lack of enthusiasm about the day. According to the podcaster, Ozzy didn’t like that he had to “buy gifts for people I don’t even like”.

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“My dad was a bit of a bah humbug Christmas guy,” Jack said in the Bush Telegraph. “He didn’t love it. He wasn’t mean on Christmas, he just wasn’t dressing up as Santa. He was more Ebenezer Scrooge. But not in a tight way, he was just more, ‘Eh who gives a s***?'”

Last year, the Black Sabbath frontman told The Sun: “I f***ing hate Christmas”. He shared that when he was still drinking, he bought 28 gallons of alcohol and drank it so quickly, he was “drunk before Christmas f***ing Eve”.

Despite Ozzy’s dislike of the holiday, he still seemed to get involved. Towards the end of November, his daughter Kelly posted a heartbreaking video of her father helping to put up the Christmas decorations. In the video, the rockstar swore as he tried to untangle a string of fairy lights, before eventually walking away.

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Over the video, Kelly wrote: “We are meant to be putting up the tree today! It won’t be the same [crying emoji]” Ozzy died in July this year after suffering a heart attack.

This came only a few weeks after his band, Black Sabbath, performed their final show in their hometown of Birmingham. His son, Jack called it the “ultimate mic drop”. On I’m A Celeb, he said: “It was the ultimate mic drop, he did a massive big gig and was like, alright I’m done … He’d be so supportive of this … I’m still navigating it all, it’s been three nearly four months and so it’s still pretty fresh.”

Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, has also shared how the death has affected her and what she keeps doing to stay close to him. Talking to The Sun, she said she visits the apple tree he was buried under everyday.

She told The Sun: “Everybody goes down there and has a chat with him. It’s never without candles by his pictures. He’d want to be missed. And he is, so terribly. I mean, it’s not even missed. It’s an ache that you wake up with, and you can’t get rid of that ache. It’s like a big hole inside of you, and the kids feel exactly the same way.

She also told Piers Morgan that her children, Kelly, Jack and Aimee, have been instrumental in helping her get through the loss. “I would have just gone with Ozzy, definitely. I’ve done everything I wanted to do. You know [my children] have been unbelievable, just magnificent with me, all three of them.”

Royal expert and author Tom Bower explains to the Mirror why he thinks this festive period is crucial for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future success and happiness

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As the royals prepare for a cosy Christmas at Sandringham, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are out in the cold for what will be their seventh year away from the family celebrations. Despite some signs this year that a reconciliation could be on the cards, particularly for King Charles and Prince Harry, royal biographer Tom Bower claims Christmas is shaping up to be a nightmare for the Sussexes.

“Harry clearly met his father with the hope that he could ingratiate himself back into the family, but it isn’t going to work, there is just no way back for him,” Tom told the Mirror. “Harry himself said he didn’t know how long his father has got, and I think that hangs over him, but I don’t think he’s that high up on Charles’ list of priorities.”

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He continued, “And Meghan isn’t reconciled with her own family and she never wants to come back to Britain, so her relationships with both families act against Harry’s own instinctive interests. The result is they are left in a very isolated place at Christmas.”

Harry, 41, and the King, 77, met for just 54 minutes at Clarence House in September in what was their first in-person meeting for over 18 months. But any hopes for a reconciliation were dashed when details of the event were allegedly “leaked”, and Harry’s team claimed there were “sources intent on sabotaging” the reunion.

According to Tom, the so-called leak was not the only thing that hurt any signs of progress. “He was granted those 54 minutes with the King by the skin of his teeth, but was told that not a word must be spoken about it,” he told us. “And then he gets on the train to Ukraine and tells a reporter that he has no regrets for anything he said in Spare.”

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Another major obstacle has been Harry’s fight to get security for his family while in the UK. He was “devastated” after losing a court battle earlier this year over the decision to downgrade their protection, and said later he couldn’t “see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point”.

But last week The Sun reported he had “won a Home Office review” into the threat level, which, if it goes Harry’s way, could lead to a long-overdue reunion for King Charles and his grandchildren, who have only met once.

Even so, Tom said, “The King is not only battling for survival, literally battling to live, but he wants a legacy and he wants to have a good transition to William, and Harry just gets in the way.”

It’s also highly unlikely the Sussexes will spend Christmas with the Markle side of the family, due to the estrangement on Meghan’s side too. Her relationship with her dad, Thomas Markle Sr, started to crumble around the time of her 2018 wedding to Harry. Thomas had to admit he lied to his future son-in-law about accusations he had staged paparazzi photos for cash a few weeks before the big day.

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However, Meghan, 44, reportedly “reached out” to him via email last week after hearing about his emergency limb amputation in the Philippines, but it wasn’t clear whether the email had landed in Thomas’ inbox.

Following a claim that Thomas, 81, was “confused” by reports Meghan had tried to contact him, People magazine said it understood Meghan’s email “did not generate an error or bounce-back notification” and “efforts to obtain updated contact information for Thomas” were ongoing.

He admitted from his hospital bed last week he was “open to reconciling” with his daughter, and wanted to meet her children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, adding, “It might be nice to meet her husband too.”

Meghan’s other big headache, according to Tom, is her reality TV career and lifestyle brand, As Ever, following the largely negative reviews of her latest Holiday Celebration edition of With Love, Meghan, which launched on 3 December.

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“This Christmas is make-or-break time for Meghan because there are two main problems – money and profile,” he told us. “Her lifestyle shows are clearly not taking off. She put on a great show in terms of looking great and pretending nothing is wrong, but the reality is it’s not a great success, to say the least.

“It hinges on how much Meghan can sell at Christmas and if it doesn’t sell, she has a real problem. Are people prepared to pay $32 for a jar of honey from the Duchess of Sussex? If it doesn’t work this Christmas, they have a real problem about what they will do in 2026.”

Tom also describes Harry as a “declining asset” in the family, as his list of official roles shrunk when he stepped back from the Sentebale charity in March amid reports of a fallout with its staff.

“The fate of Sentebale is OK without him, so what’s he got? The next Invictus Games is in 2027, so what is he going to do for a year?” Tom said. “There’s just no easy solution to the problem they have.”

Frankie Bridge has shared the secret device behind her glowing skin, with her go-to LED face mask said to be a ‘game changer’ for conditions like acne and rosacea

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If you’ve noticed that party season is already taking its toll on your skin, or just want to start the new year with a brand new skincare routine, then an LED mask is a must-have. The at-home device is one of the easiest ways to bring some salon-worthy treatments into your regular routine,

But if you’re not sure which one to go for, Frankie Bridge has shared her favourite one to use at home after a follower asked for her recommendation. Frankie shared that the CurrentBody LED Blue Light Mask: Series 2 is her LED mask of choice, which she said is: “So good if you use it consistently.”

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The LED Blue Light Mask: Series 2 uses both blue and red light to tackle plenty of different skin complaints, and is said to clear skin and calm irritation in as little as six weeks. There are two precise wavelengths that the mask uses, and the silicone material makes it comfortable to fit around your face to make sure you get even coverage.

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Blue light helps get rid of spot-causing bacteria, which not only gets rid of existing blemishes but it helps prevent future breakouts from occurring. Meanwhile the red light boosts your collagen production and helps support skin repairing to reduce redness and even out your skin tone.

As this is the series 2 version of the LED Blue Light Mask, it comes with additional features like an added chin strap and head strap which gives extra support and coverage. There are more LED lights, too, which help make sure you get more coverage and an effective treatment.

There’s even a belt clip on the controller so you can attach it to your clothes whilst wearing the LED Blue Light Mask: Series 2, to make it extra portable and easy to wear. You can pick up the mask for £399.99 direct from the CurrentBody website, but if that’s a little out of budget for you, there are some others available for less.

The Shark CryoGlow LED Mask is £299.99 and has under-eye cooling patches and LED lights to help reduce signs of ageing, banish blemishes and repair skin. Meanwhile the Silk’n Facial LED Mask 100 LEDS is £99.99 down from £160 if you’re looking for an ultra-affordable pick.

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However the LED Blue Light Mask: Series 2 has gotten rave reviews from shoppers who have found it helped everything from acne to rosacea, with no reviews giving it less than four stars.

One said: “My wife has been using the mask for a while now and it’s definitely helping to control her rosacea. Also, she no longer has to take antibiotics, which is fantastic.”

Another wrote: “I had been struggling with hormonal acne for 2+ years and had tried everything – skincare, treatments, diet etc. This device was a game changer for me! Six weeks and no severe breakouts.”

With a third raving: “After 1 month my skin is brighter and smoother. Easy to use and very comfortable.”

And finally a fourth added: “I had so much inflammation in my face that I ended up with this mask. After 3 days of use, I noticed a visible difference and the inflammations were already a lot smaller. Now my skin has calmed down again and the inflammations are almost gone. Very happy with my purchase.”