Christmas has officially begun for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, who yesterday left London on a train, traveling to their Sandringham residence to spend the holidays.
The 89 year old Queen was seen to be smiling broadly as she got on board the 1 hour 37 minute journey along with her 94 year old husband, Prince Philip.
According to other passengers on the train, Her Majesty kept herself amused using an iPad in their 1st class carriage, whilst Prince Philip was indulged in a book.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will not spend Christmas alone. Just the same as every year, they will be joined by other members of the royal family at Sandringham House over Christmas.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will be just some of the family who will be joining Her Majesty during the festivities. They will not be staying in Sandringham House, but in Anmer Hall, which is also on the Sandringham estate.
As per tradition, The Duke and Duchess will be present in the royal congregation on their way to church on Christmas morning. A decision has not been made yet over whether Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be joining them.
Sandringham has been privately owned by the royal family since 1862 after it was purchased by Queen Victoria at the request of her son and future King, Prince Edward.
It has remained close to the royal family since, and it is from here where the Queen’s Christmas speech is broadcast. The topic and issues raised in this year’s speech is not yet known.
Before the Queen set off to Sandringham yesterday, she hosted a pre-Christmas lunch for her family at Buckingham Palace. All of the senior members of the Royal Family were in attendance, except The Duke of Cambridge, who had to excuse himself due to attend a funeral service.
