The Royal Family has renewed its decades-long tradition of congregating at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on Christmas Day. A lot has changed since their last festive gathering there in 2019, not least the passing of the country’s longest-reigning monarch, so how did this year compare for the spectators?
Queen Elizabeth II spent her final two Christmases at Windsor Castle because of the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the church at Sandringham was a picture of tranquillity.
Roughly a thousand royalists, some from the other side of the globe, usually queue up for security checks each year before gathering outside the church to cheer and offer up festive gifts.
Karen Anvil, a 44-year-old NHS worker from nearby King’s Lynn, said it was a “different vibe” on Sunday.
“Although it was pleasant, was very, very, different to years in the past,” said Ms Anvil, who attended with 22-year-old daughter Rachel for the fourth time.
“The crowd wasn’t as big. It was full, but it wasn’t as deep and it was quieter.
“When they come out they usually work the crowd. They stopped but it was extremely brief – they weren’t rude at all, but it was rushed.”
The pair first attended in 2017 because her daughter wanted to see Meghan Markle – now Duchess of Sussex. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have withdrawn from royal duties since the last Sandringham service and more recently released their much-discussed Netflix documentary.
“I don’t know if they [the Royal Family at the church] were worried about the reception, but the crowd were fine and there was no booing,” said Ms Anvil, who noticed an increased security and police presence.
She was disappointed that crowd-favourite the Princess Royal, who was reportedly suffering from a cold, did not attend, but said that her son-in-law Mike Tindall, who appeared on the latest ITV series of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, received the biggest cheer of the morning.
Ms Anvil’s picture of the “Fab Four” at the church in 2017 – Prince William, Prince Harry and their other halves – was bought by news agencies across the world.
This year she persuaded Princess Beatrice and her family to pose for a photo, videoed Prince Louis as he ran from his mother to join his siblings; and also caught the exchange between Catherine, Princess of Wales and eight-year-old India, who handed her a bouquet.
India’s mother, nursery worker Zoe Harrowing from Watton, said her daughter was up at 03:00 GMT that morning before driving off to Sandringham at 05:30.
“She loved it. She said it was better than opening her Christmas presents and she said she’s met a real-life princess,” said Ms Harrowing.
Peter Gray, who lives on the estate and has attended with his wife since 2007, was another well-wisher at the church and said there were less than a thousand people there.
“Whether it’s because people haven’t warmed towards the new King yet, I don’t know, although Charles to his credit walked down to the church, whereas the Queen would have to come down in the car on the other side,” said the amateur photographer.
“You just don’t know how Netflix and Meghan has played out – what is going on in people’s minds – the royals have had a lot of negative publicity recently.”
Mr Gray added: “It was nice to be back.
“For us it’s part of Christmas Day, to get up early, get everything sorted, get in the queue – it’s nice to do it and it’s become a tradition.”
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who is not often seen in public since the controversy over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was also at the service.
He stepped down as a working royal in 2019.
