London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Charlotte and George join Sandringham service

Prince George and Princess Charlotte mingled with the crowds as they attended the Royal Family's Christmas Day church service for the first time.

Prince Philip, who was released from hospital on Tuesday, did not attend.

A large crowd gathered to greet the Queen and family members as they attended the service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.

Prince Andrew, who stepped back from royal duties last month, kept a low profile at the event.

The 11am service was broadcast live to the hundreds of visitors who had gathered outside the church.

Some had queued from the early hours of the morning in the hope of seeing the Royal Family.

Well-wishers held out flowers and gifts for Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince George, six, who were accompanied by their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

There had been speculation over whether Prince Andrew would join the rest of his family at Sandringham, after controversy over his links with billionaire sex offender Jeffery Epstein saw him sidelined from royal duties.

While most of the family arrived in front of crowds lining the roads, Andrew, accompanied by his brother, arrived earlier at the church and used a different entrance.

His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, both attended the main service.

The BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the prince was a "significant absentee" from the main service at 11am.

Our correspondent said: "If he had attended [the main service] a lot of the coverage would have been around him. He has become... something of an embarrassment currently to the Royal Family."


'Bumpy' year

The Queen's attendance at church preceded her Christmas Day message - in which she described 2019 as "quite bumpy".

She said that "positive things" could be achieved when differences were set aside and people came together "in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation".

"As we all look forward to the start of a new decade, it's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change," she said.

The Queen marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the 75th anniversary of D-Day, while also looking ahead at causes being championed by younger generations.

"The challenges many people face today may be different to those once faced by my generation, but I have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate," the Queen said.

The Queen's message comes after a year of intense political debate over Brexit, as well as a number of personal events affecting the Royal Family.

As well as the controversy over Prince Andrew, the year has seen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex take legal action against a newspaper and speak of the pressures of parenthood and royal life.

There have also been concerns over the health of Prince Philip, who was involved in a car crash at the beginning of the year.

Prince Phillip returned to Sandringham on Christmas Eve after spending four nights in hospital.

He was taken to King Edward VII's Hospital in London on Friday on the advice of his doctor.

The 98-year-old retired from public life in August 2017 and his last public appearance was at Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding in May.

The Earl of Wessex and his daughter Lady Louise Windsor also arrived for the Christmas morning church service.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not attend this year's church service as they are in Canada taking a break from royal duties with their son Archie.

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released a new photograph showing the duke kissing his youngest son, Louis, alongside Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The picture was posted by Kensington Palace on Twitter with the message: "Merry Christmas to all our followers!"

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×