Royal fans have started gathering outside St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham to catch a glimpse of the Royal Family, who will go on their annual walk this morning to celebrate Christmas Day.
Among those queuing to get a prime spot along the path were brother and sister Tom Hirst from Blofield and Victoria Holland from Shropshire. While Tom is a regular at royal events, it’s Victoria’s first time and they’ve come in memory of their late mother, Christine.
She died of kidney cancer on December 1 and was a staunch royalist.
As a care support worker for the NHS, she had to work every Christmas, but last year her son brought her to the King’s Norfolk Estate for the first time.
“She was determined to come,” Tom told the Daily Express. “She has always wanted to come but she was always working. I’m so glad we did it.”
In a wheelchair wrapped in a union flag blanket, Christine spoke to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh after the church service.
Tom said work was her lifeline and it’s what “kept her going” through her two-year illness.
They were stood next to husband and wife Harry and Karen, who was festively clad in Christmas tree antlers, lights and wreath earrings.
The couple had travelled from Greater Manchester and had started queuing from before the sunrise.
Asked why they had come today, Karen said: “To meet the Royal Family, obviously, and just get a glimpse of what happens and the camaraderie between people here. It’s our first time, we’re absolutely loving it and we’ll definitely come again.”
– By Emily Ferguson – Royal Editor in Sandringham
