LOTTE’S A FIRM FAVE
Charlotte & George on first family walkabout
PRINCESS Charlotte is the star of the day as she hugs a wheelchair-bound royal fan on the way to her first Sandringham Christmas Day service.
The four-year-old and her big brother Prince George, six, melted hearts on their first walkabout with the Firm, alongside dad William and mum Kate.
Well-wishers began queuing at 1am to be allowed into the paddock outside St Magdalene Church to see the royals as they walked the few hundred yards there from Sandringham House.
After the service, George and Charlotte delighted the 2,000strong crowd by chatting to them alongside their parents and accepting gifts.
Gemma Clark, 39, who has cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, got a hug from both children.
She gave Charlotte an inflatable flamingo and the princess thanked her.
Ms Clark, from Long Sutton, Lincs, said George and Charlotte were “brilliant”, adding: “It was amazing. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Charlotte, wearing a smart coat in the same dark green as her mum’s hat, also charmed onlookers by trying to curtsey to the Queen just like Kate as the 93-yearold returned to her car. Both youngsters were on their best behaviour, though at one point frowning Charlotte was reluctant to hand over flowers to an aide so she could receive more presents.
The Queen, in red, was driven to and from church in a maroon Bentley, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall on the way down, as
GEMMA CLARK ON MEETING THE ROYALS
It was amazing. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time
Prince Charles walked with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Prince Andrew stayed away from the 11am service, remaining at Sandringham House with his father, Prince Philip, 98, who left hospital in Central London on Christmas Eve after four days of treatment for an undisclosed condition.
When the Duke of York stepped back from public duties last month amid a public backlash over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, palace officials had said the 59-year-old would be at the Christmas Day service. But in the event he went with Charles to a private 9am service, before the public were let into the paddock outside the church.
Also attending the main morning service were Princess Beatrice and her fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, Princess Anne and husband Sir Tim Laurence, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex with their children, Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12.
Back at the house after the service, the family sat down to a Sandringham-reared turkey lunch and the Queen’s TV broadcast.
Among the crowds were royal fan Aida Andrews, 97, with son Mick, 70, and family from Bedford. Mick plans to take his mum each year for the three years until she turns 100.
Paul Merchant of Tydd St Giles, Cambs, was celebrating his 50th birthday there with wife Angela and their daughter Emily, 15.
Two men were escorted off the premises after climbing into a field on the royal estate but were not arrested.