King Charles and Queen Camilla appeared in high spirits as they attended a Sunday morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church today.
The monarch, 77, and his wife, 78, beamed and waved at well-wishers as they braved the cold 6°C weather in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Charles wrapped up warm, placing his hands inside his brown double-breasted overcoat, paired with grey suit trousers and taupe coloured loafers.
The royal, who is head of the Church of England, appeared to be enjoying the sunny but chilly scenes in the countryside as he walked alongside elegantly dressed Camilla and Reverend Canon Dr Paul Williams.
The Queen donned an emerald overcoat, chocolate-brown suede boots, accessorising with a fashionably cosy fur-lined wide-brimmed hat, a scarf, gloves and a pair of dazzling pearl earrings.
The Royal Family attends St Mary Magdalene Church – a 16th-century church on their Sandringham property – for the Christmas service every year.
The Firm first acquired the Sandringham estate in 1862 and is owned by the family, not the crown. It was then passed down for generations and belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth up until her death in September 2022, when it was then given to Charles.
It comes after it was revealed that the former Prince Andrew will spend a final Christmas at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
King Charles wrapped up warm, placing his hands inside his brown double-breasted overcoat, which he paired with grey suit trousers and taupe coloured loafers
Queen Camilla donned an emerald overcoat along with chocolate brown suede boots, accessorising with a fashionably cosy fur-lined wide-brimmed hat
It means the former Duke of York will not be moving to Sandringham, and into permanent royal exile, until well into the New Year.
The Royal Family will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief at the news, with sources admitting that the ex-prince’s presence on the King’s private Norfolk estate during the festive season, when most of the senior royals are in residence, would have been ‘suboptimal’.
Announcing the King’s decision to strip his brother of his remaining royal titles and secure his departure from Windsor last month, Buckingham Palace said only that the move would take place ‘as soon as practicable’.
Now the Daily Mail has confirmed that it will not happen this side of Christmas, with Andrew not completing his move to Sandringham until some time in 2026.
Sources have indicated that the ‘practicalities’ of packing up his belongings at ten-bedroom Royal Lodge, where he has lived on the Windsor Estate for more than 30 years, and moving to his undisclosed new home were ‘quite a substantial logistical process, if nothing else’.
He also needs to negotiate the ending of his 75-year lease on the property from the Crown Estate early, which some fear could see him in line to collect compensation given the work he has already carried out on the property.
But happily, it will also take Andrew – who has now lost everything over his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – out of the picture when the Royal Family gather in Norfolk on Christmas Eve for their annual festive break.
Senior royals then walk with the King to church on Christmas morning before enjoying a meal back at Sandringham House.
The monarch, 77, and his wife, 78, beamed and waved at well-wishers as they braved the cold 6°C weather in Sandringham, Norfolk
A source said the situation could have proved ‘quite awkward’ at a time when Andrew quite clearly isn’t welcome.
‘He won’t be anywhere near the Big House [the nickname given to the monarch’s home at Sandringham],’ they confirmed.
While the move to the estate won’t happen imminently for logistical reasons, they explained, people were also acutely aware any physical proximity to his family at such a special time of year would make his exclusion ‘seem even more barbed’.
Sandringham was chosen because it is the sovereign’s personal estate, meaning that Andrew’s living arrangements can be sorted – and, crucially, funded – completely privately.
Royal Lodge was leased from the Crown Estate, the profits of which are returned to the Government for public spending, which had made his ‘peppercorn rent’ deal all the more controversial. The Palace will not reveal his new location for security reasons.
The visit today also comes after the King issued a heartfelt message to Hong Kong after a deadly blaze ripped through a tower block and killed at least 128 people.
In a letter published on Friday, the King said he and Queen Camilla were ‘greatly saddened to learn of the devastating fire’, and that they ‘feel deeply’ for the people of Hong Kong.
‘My wife and I were greatly saddened to learn of the devastating fire in Tai Po and feel deeply for the people of Hong Kong at such a tragic time,’ the King wrote.
‘Our most heartfelt thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones and with those who are now living with shock and uncertainty.’
He went on to praise the ‘extraordinary courage’ of the emergency services and the ‘determined spirit’ of community members who helped with the rescue effort.
‘In the face of such appalling tragedy, strength can be found in supporting one another, and we see that same bravery in Hong Kong at this most heartbreaking of times,’ the letter added.
The King concluded by offering ‘profound sympathy’ to all those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the tragedy.
‘The families and loved ones of those whose precious lives have been lost, and the people of Hong Kong, will remain in our prayers and in our hearts,’ he wrote.
