Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their family joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the morning service at Sandringham Church today, as the royals mark their first Christmas since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.
The queen traditionally hosted the family at her Norfolk estate over the Christmas period, and before the pandemic forced her to remain in isolation at Windsor Castle, she had spent every Christmas since 1988 at Sandringham, attending the service at St. Mary Magdalene Church surrounded by her family.
Almost four months after her death, the royals presented a united front in Norfolk today following an undeniably turbulent period for the family. Earlier this month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their explosive docuseries, Harry & Meghan, on Netflix. In two drops of three episodes each, the couple outlined their take on the roller coaster of events that followed their first date at Dean Street Townhouse in the summer of 2016.
In addition to retracing their whirlwind love story, Harry and Meghan opened up about the duchess’s efforts to get up to speed with royal tradition, the impact intense press scrutiny had on their mental health, their days living in the bijou Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace (“It was a chapter in our lives where I don’t think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes,” says Meghan), and what ultimately led them to board their “freedom flight” out of the UK in search of a new life overseas.
Back in Britain, the royal family have remained characteristically silent, with no official response to the Sussexes’ documentary from Buckingham Palace to date, in spite of the many grievances raised. Senior royals will be bracing themselves for yet more allegations next month, when Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, is due to be published.
There was no trace of strain on the Princess of Wales’s face today, as she walked to church flanked by her three children and Prince William. It follows the airing of Together at Christmas, a carol service hosted by Kate Middleton in memory of the queen, which aired in Britain on Christmas Eve. The couple’s two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were among the congregation at the special service, a tribute to their much-loved Gan-Gan.
The Wales family is now based in Windsor, having moved from their longtime London residence at Kensington Palace over the summer. Kate was every inch the stylish country woman in Norfolk today, wearing a military-style olive green coat, brown suede boots, and a wide-brim fedora with jaunty feather detail. The princess’s tailored coat is by Alexander McQueen, a piece the increasingly conscious royal has worn in the past, including for a day of royal engagements in Bradford in January 2020.
King Charles III is expected to pay tribute to his late mother later today when he makes his first Christmas broadcast since assuming the throne.
The article was originally published in British.
