PRINCE William, Princess Kate and their children - George, Charlotte and Louis - were the picture of happiness today as they joined the Royal family's traditional Christmas walk.
The Wales's walked to church at Sandringham alongside King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla and were beaming with smiles and laughter as well-wishers cheered along the route. Prince Louis even wore shorts, despite the chilly December weather.
The group were joined by a number of other royals - including Mike and Zara Tindall and daughter Lena. Lady Louise Windsor and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and James Viscount Severn were also there and full of grins, as were as Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank.
William and Kate were joined by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
Joe Giddens
Prince Andrew, the disgraced Duke of York, was also in attendance, but cut a rather lonely figure at the back of the royal party.
The family was attending the Royal family’s traditional Christmas Day church service St Mary Magdalene Church for the first time since the death of The Queen.
Mike and Zara Tindall and daughter Lena joined in with the laughter at Sandringham
Joe Giddens
Charles, 74, and the 75-year-old Queen Consort walked the short distance from Sandringham House to the church.
They laughed and joked along the way, as did the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children – Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis, who walked hand in hand with Kate.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in California, were absent.
Members of the royal family were greeted outside the church by the Reverend Canon Dr Paul Rhys Williams before they climbed the steps to the church and the National Anthem was sung before the first hymn, O Come, All Ye Faithful.
Earlier, William and Kate tweeted a picture painted by George of a reindeer, with the message “Happy Christmas!”
The disgraced Duke of York cut a lonely figure at the back of the royal party
Joe Giddens
This year’s gathering at Sandringham is the first time the Royal family have spent Christmas at the private residence in Norfolk since 2019.
Queen Elizabeth II hosted 32 Christmases at Sandringham and loved the festive tradition, especially playing board games with her grandchildren and great grandchildren in the afternoons.
Princess Beatrice, stepson Wolfie and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Joe Giddens
The late Queen had spent the festive period at Windsor Castle for two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before her death in September this year.
Traditionally, royal Christmases at Sandringham feature a turkey lunch at the house before the family settle down to watch TV, which this year will include Charles’s first Christmas Broadcast as monarch.
Wellwishers said they were delighted to see the Royal family out and about on Christmas Day. John Loughrey, of Streatham, south London, said he arrived at 7pm on Christmas Eve and camped out overnight with his friend Sky London, 62.
Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Kate Middleton leave the church after the service
Joe Giddens
The retired assistant chef said they took a train from London to King’s Lynn in Norfolk, then a bus to Sandringham where they are staying at a local hotel, around 15 minutes’ walk from St Mary Magdalene church.
The 67-year-old, who wore a Union Jack hat, gloves and hoody, said he slept in a tinfoil blanket to ensure a place at the front of the queue. “We were both shivering,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep properly.”
Mr Loughrey added: "We wanted to come here to show our appreciation to King Charles III and his Queen Consort and of course the Prince of Wales."
