Charlotte, George steal the show during royal Christmas festivities
While the Queen lamented a “bumpy” year in her annual message, Princess Charlotte and Prince George showed the future of the monarchy looks to be in safe hands.
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Princess Charlotte and Prince George stole the show, as they joined their parents and great-grandmother at the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day church for the first time.
Walking hand-in-hand with their proud parents, Charlotte, 4, and George, 6, were considered old enough to attend the annual celebrations, and were a hit with crowds, particularly with the absence of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their son Archie.
One-year-old Prince Louis stayed at the house.
After church services at Sandringham, Princess Charlotte had wellwishers in raptures as she waved and greeted fans and accepted Christmas gifts from those who’d waited to see one of the world’s most famous families.
After the service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Princess Charlotte was spotted mingling with members of the public and spreading some festive joy while clutching an inflatable pink flamingo, reports The Sun.
The young princess also melted hearts as she stopped to hug royal fan Gemma Clark, who was in her wheelchair after waiting all morning to catch a glimpse of the royal family.
Princess Charlotte, who was accompanied by mum Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, was also handed a gift box by a wellwisher.
Ms Clark, 39, gave her the inflatable flamingo and said she seemed pleased with the gift.
“She said, ‘Thank you’,” said Ms Clark.
The flamingo was called Felicity, Ms Clark said, adding: “But Charlotte may call it whatever she likes now.”
She said: “It was a birthday present. My sister bought me it for my birthday and I truthfully didn’t like it but we have adventures with her.”
She said Prince George and Princess Charlotte were “brilliant”.
“It made my day,” she added. “I’ve never seen the royal family, ever.
“This is my first time at Sandringham and I would love to do it again.”
Another wellwisher presented Princess Charlotte with a homemade doll.
But while the royal family gathered together on Christmas, both the traditional church service at Sandringham and the Queen’s annual message were dominated by an absent Prince Harry and a disgraced Prince Andrew.
Prince Charles and Prince Andrew walked side-by-side to church to early on Christmas, but the shamed Duke of York was nowhere to be seen at the official 11am service.
As the Queen used her annual Christmas message to spread a message of Christian love and reconciliation, the pall of a tough year for the monarchy could be felt as she spoke about the “bumpy year” the royal family and the entire UK has had.
Prince Harry and Meghan were not at Sandringham on Christmas Day despite pleas from other royals to come back to the UK and be with the elderly Queen and Prince Philip and show a spirit of royal unity.
Prince Harry has spoken publicly of his rift with his brother Prince William and Meghan has spoken of her struggles to fit into royal life. The pair are currently suing several UK tabloids and are currently on holiday in Canada.
But the absent royal couple played a starring role in the Queen’s Christmas message as she reflected on the birth of her eight great grandchild earlier this year.
“Two hundred years on from the birth of my great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria, Prince Philip and I have been delighted to welcome our eighth great grandchild into our family,” she said.
“Of course, at the heart of the Christmas story lies the birth of a child: a seemingly small and insignificant step overlooked by many in Bethlehem.
“But in time, through his teaching and by his example, Jesus Christ would show the world how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding.”
Meanwhile, an image of Prince Charles and a sombre Prince Andrew walking to a private 9am church service came only months after the two had come to blows.
The Prince of Wales was the primary force behind his younger brother being sacked from his royal duties after a car-crash interview concerning his alleged links to notorious paedophile Jeffery Epstein.
But the two brothers reconciled on Christmas Day to attend a 9am (10pm AEDT) service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen’s private Norfolk estate.
At the main 11am service where crowds and the world’s media were gathered, Prince Andrew was missing in action and agreed to stay back with Prince Philip.
The 98-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was still too frail to attend church after being released from hospital on Christmas Eve. He had spent four days at Prince Edward Hospital in London due to a “pre-existing condition.”
The early morning snap was one of the rare appearances of the Duke of York since he refused to say his friendship with Epstein – who was awaiting trial over the abuse of young girls before he killed himself — was a mistake.
He also denied having sex and any wrongdoing with one of Epstein’s alleged slaves, Australian Virginia Roberts Giuffre, insisting they could never have met as she claimed because he was at a pizza parlour the night in question and he claims he could not sweat (as she claimed) due to a war wound.
Prince Andrew’s daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie – alongside Princess Beatrice’s new fiance Eduardo Mapelli Mozzi – were seen with the royals heading into St Mary Magdalene Church.
The real stars of the royal Christmas show were Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who walked in with Prince William, Prince Charles and Kate.
The Christmas service highlighted how Prince George and Princess Charlotte will begin to play a much bigger public role in the next decade and that Prince Charles plans to have a more slimmed-down monarchy focused on the Queen, himself and Camilla, Prince William and Kate and their children.
In the Queen’s Christmas message — the photos on her desk were of “the core monarchy” as planned by Charles.
There were no pictures of Prince Harry and Meghan or the Queen’s three other children in her office.
Royal biographer Penny Junor said the slimmed down monarchy was a “good thing” and worked naturally for a modern monarchy.
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“Charles thinks that the problems are coming from the extended family – Andrew or Harry – and they are not that important in the scheme of things,” she said.
“The core of the monarchy – The Queen, Charles and Camilla, William and Kate – is as strong as ever.
“It’s going to happen naturally as George takes on more and the older royals drop off the line.”
🎄 Merry Christmas to all our followers!
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 25, 2019
This photograph of The Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was taken by The Duchess of Cambridge in Norfolk earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/40j3Xg36Q4
Still, in her message, it was clear the 93-year-old Queen was poised to reflect on reconciliation and forgiveness.
“Small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding,” the Queen said.
“The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.”
The Queen was also used the Christmas Day Message to look back at recent big anniversaries such as 75 years since the D-Day landings which led to the liberation of Western Europe from the Nazis.
The Queen attended the D-Day commemorations in France earlier this year alongside Donald Trump, Scott Morrison and then-British Prime Minister Theresa May.
“For the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of that decisive battle, in a true spirit of reconciliation, those who had formerly been sworn enemies came together in friendly commemorations either side of the Channel, putting past differences behind them,” the Queen said.
“By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost.”
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the Queen will be pleased to put 2019 behind her.
“It’s a tapestry of a tough year – the Duke of York and Epstein and Harry and a Meghan’s war with the press stand out,” he said.
“And the year started with a literal car crash with Prince Philip.
“There have been all sorts of errors and the big question here is about the advisers – are they being listened to? Is the advice any good?”
The year has been so rough that some have compared 2019 to the Queen’s “annus horribilis” in 1992.
That was the year Diana and Prince Charles split up, Andrew and Sarah parted ways and Windsor Castle burned down.
Mr Fitzwilliams said however difficult 2019 has been, the Queen and the royals can still bounce back.
“Never underestimate the Windsors,” he said.
“Consider how bad things looked for the monarchy in the 1990s and how well they managed to swing things around.”
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