King Charles and the Royal Family could find their Christmas Day a lot quieter this year.
The choir at the church of St. Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate, where the royals traditionally attend Christmas Day service, have stopped singing after a row about standards.
The vicar of the church, the Rev Paul Williams, decided to bring in a consultant to review the choristers, who are all volunteers.
Tansy Castledine concluded, in a report published earlier this year, that the group needed to ”aspire to higher standards” and that they had ”no knowledge of music or singing technique”.
(By Elliott Brown – CC BY 2.0, Wiki Commons)
The choir’s long time leader, Dr Claire Stewart, went on sick leave brought on by stress and now the Director of Music has quit her post.
As a result, it’s reported that several choristers are boycotting rehearsals. Now it’s feared that they might not be in full voice for the Christmas Day service.
Although the service itself is never broadcast, it’s the most watched Christmas Day church ceremony in the country as crowds gather outside St. Mary Magdalene to see the Royal Family as they walk from Sandringham House. There’s always a walkabout afterwards, too, with millions seeing the royal Christmas on TV and online.
St. Mary Magdalene is in the Diocese of Norwich and a spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph that ”several members of the choir have continued to sing together throughout this time, including at sung services across the churches in the Sandringham group.”
There’s no chance of the Christmas Day service being cancelled. Not only would The King have something to say, the Diocese noted that ”there is a full schedule of services planned at Sandringham to celebrate the joy of Christmas.”
King Charles is expected to gather the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas. Last year, Queen Camilla also invited her own children to join them for the festive celebrations.
(Stephen Lock/ i-Images)
However, it’s already known that The King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, won’t be joining the family even though he is about to move to a private property on the Sandringham estate. He is headed there after giving up the lease on the thirty room Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate where he has lived, rent free, for over twenty years.
His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, won’t join the Royal Family either – King Charles surprised many by inviting her to be part of the group walking to and from church in 2023.
It’s not known whether Andrew and Sarah’s two daughters will join the Royal Family at Sandringham this year. Princess Beatrice was with them in 2024, having had to cancel plans to spend the festive season in Italy as she was heavily pregnant and doctors advised her not to travel. Her sister, Princess Eugenie, wasn’t there and spent the holidays with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and their two sons, August and Ernest.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to be at Sandringham on Christmas Day along with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
There will also be interest in whether Princess Anne’s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips are there – Peter announced his engagement to Harriet Sperling earlier this year and this would be her first Christmas as a royal bride to be.
(Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images.)
King Charles has maintained the tradition of celebrating royal Christmas at Sandringham. Queen Elizabeth II brought the Royal Family together for the festive season there throughout her reign and despite a brief time when the holidays would be marked at Windsor, it was at the Norfolk estate that she most enjoyed Christmas.
The King, like his mother, often attends several services at St. Mary Magdalene on Christmas Day. However, he may find both a little quieter this year.
