LONDON – King Charles and his family took part in a longstanding Christmas tradition, strolling together to St Mary Magdalene, a 16th-century church on the Sandringham estate, for Christmas morning service.
Members of the family, including Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, greeted well-wishers and accepted flowers following the service on the estate which is owned by the British royal family.
The Princess of Wales wore a forest green coat by Alexander McQueen, a matching hat by Gina Foster and a Black Watch tartan scarf.
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The princess often chooses Black Watch for the Christmas Day walkabout, and in the past has worn an Alexander McQueen coat dress with the dark blue and green plaid pattern.
Queen Camilla also wore a forest green coat, and completed the look with a pea green hat with a colorful bird feather pinned at the front. She carried a Chanel handbag.
Other members of the family included Princess Beatrice, who is pregnant with her second child, and Zara and Mike Tindall and their children. Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew stayed away this year in the wake of yet another media scandal, this time involving a past friendship with an alleged Chinese spy.
The royals have been spending Christmas at Sandringham since 1988, a tradition started by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
This Christmas gathering is particularly poignant, given that King Charles and the Princess of Wales were both diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. They are recovering, and the king has announced that he will continue to undergo cancer treatment in the new year.
The Princess of Wales has slowly been easing her way back into public life, carrying out engagements on behalf of the family. In November, she attended the annual Remembrance Sunday service led by King Charles at The Cenotaph war memorial in central London.
Earlier this month, Middleton hosted the “Together at Christmas” carol service, and joined Prince William to welcome the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his wife Sheikha Jawaher to London for their state visit to the U.K.
The 42-year-old princess took to social media in June to announce her plans to return to royal duties.
Later in the day, King Charles broke with tradition and gave his Christmas address from a community center rather than a royal residence. He appealed for peace around the world and thanked the medical staff who have been treating him.
“I am speaking to you today from the chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London – now itself a vibrant community space – and thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others – often at some cost to themselves,” the king said in a pre-recorded speech broadcast at 3:00 p.m. local time.
“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed. I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement,” added the king.
