A mother and daughter who met members of the Royal Family at Sandringham said the atmosphere was ‘different’ this year.
Karen Anvil, 46, and her daughter Rachel, 24, have been in the crowd at Sandringham for seven years in a row and said that one significant change from the royals was noticed by those in the crowd.
The pair, who snapped the famous ‘fab four’ photo at Christmas in 2017, also spotted an unlikely royal friendship and revealed which Duchess was most missed this year.
Karen and Rachel said that the reduced size of the family at church on the day, as well as particular enthusiasm to greet the Princess of Wales, were the main reasons that things were ‘different’ this time around.
Karen, a maternity care support worker, said: ‘Only half of the family was there, for a start, and people in the crowd really did notice that.
‘They did wonder, where is everybody? It was still heaving. Absolutely heaving. You turn up at 7:00 in the morning, and usually, you’re one of the first people there. But this year there was already a queue.
‘The crowd were all waiting to see Kate. Kate was really grateful for the turnout and people all wanted to see her.’
The Princess of Wales was ‘laden’ with flowers and other gifts from well-wishers after the Christmas church service, some of whom camped out to see her after a year out of public life due to cancer treatment.
She completed a course of preventative chemotherapy in November.
Rachel, a healthcare science coordinator who once worked in cancer care, joined many members of the crowd by thanking Kate for being ‘an inspiration for all cancer patients.’
While Kate was the ‘main star of the show’, one particular heartwarming moment caught the pair’s eye and revealed an unsuspected royal friendship.
They noticed a camaraderie between the King’s equerry, Colonel Johnny Thompson, and the Tindall family.
Karen said: ‘Little Mia Tindall goes up to him [Colonel Thompson] to get some flowers and she sticks her tongue out at him.
‘He boops her on the nose with these flowers. That just shows they’re just normal people, but they’re just fun.’
Princess Anne’s daughter Zara married former rugby union star Mike Tindall. The couple share three children: Mia, Lena and Lucas.
The absence of other headline royals also dominated the conversation among the Sandringham crowd, with one particularly missed.
‘I tell you who people did miss and mention, and that was Fergie,’ said Karen. ‘People actually really missed her. She is a crowd favourite. When she came last year people were absolutely delighted.’
This year the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, nicknamed Fergie, was absent alongside one of her daughters Princess Eugenie, as Prince Andrew faced growing scrutiny over his link to an alleged Chinese spy.
Charles has also been implementing his own goal of streamlining the monarchy and reducing the family’s public spending.
The overwhelming impression left by the royals on the crowd this Christmas is how fun and witty they are.
‘We had a lovely interaction with King Charles and you know, he’s actually one of my favourites. He’s so much fun. Lady Louise was so friendly and polite. She even made jokes.
‘Prince Louis was really excited because he was getting different chocolates and a Mickey Mouse toy and things like that.
‘He was just buzzing, running all about the place within reason. Princess Charlotte is also just amazing.’
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