Two’s company at Sandringham for Prince Harry and his bride-to-be

It has always been a rather lonely walk for Prince Harry. As the rest of the Royal family strode along, two by two, accompanied by their spouses and children on the annual frosty morning stroll to St Mary Magdalene Church, the Prince usually walked with his brother and sister-in-law. Yesterday, however, the Queen’s grandson looked proud to have his beautiful fiancée on his arm.

Wearing an elegant camel coat with a tan hat and heeled boots, and carrying a chic tan leather bag, Meghan Markle proved once again that she is a natural on the public stage, as – in a break with tradition for the fiancée of a member of the Royal family – she joined her future in-laws for her first British Christmas.

And it was abundantly clear to the crowds watching that Ms Markle is already well-versed in royal protocol, seeming utterly at ease as she walked with the rest of the family to the annual Christmas Day service at Sandringham, demurely bowing her head alongside her sister-in-law-to-be, the Duchess of Cambridge, and executing a perfect curtsy as the Queen left the church.

In a vibrant orange coat and hat, and sporting the Wattle brooch (that was given to her by the people of Australia during her first Commonwealth tour in 1953) the Queen, who was too unwell with a cold to attend last year’s service, arrived at the church first, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, in the royal Bentley.

Meanwhile the Duke of Edinburgh led the rest of the family on the short walk from Sandringham House to the 16th-century church.

The younger generation followed, with Ms Markle and the Prince smiling and chatting as they strode arm-in-arm past the throngs of well-wishers, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who is pregnant with her third child, at their side.

The service, which began with the congregation singing the national anthem, included traditional carols including Oh Come all Ye Faithful.

Afterwards, some members of the family chose to stop briefly to chat to people gathered outside the church and wish them a happy Christmas, before heading back to the house for a traditional Christmas lunch of Sandringham roast turkey, and to watch the Queen’s speech.

Prince Harry made a beeline for Judith Wallis, who was holding a teddy bear called Maureen that he recognised to be a mascot for the Armed Forces charity SSAFA, and wore a hat decorated with the Gurkha regiment emblem.

Mrs Wallis, 70, said the couple seemed totally at ease chatting to them after the service.

“They were asking how we were, and Meghan was so natural and lovely. She was just charming.”

Mrs Wallis’s friend Ann Wilkes told how the Prince apologised he couldn’t take a picture with them: “The Prince made a bit of a fuss of Maureen and said: ‘I normally have a photo with Maureen but this year I can’t.’”

When asked what they would be doing for the rest of the day, Prince Harry told onlookers: “We’re going to have lunch with the family and watch the Queen’s speech, which we’re very much looking forward to.”

The couple joined the rest of the family on the walk back to the house, but stopped when a banner in the crowd caught their eye. The sign read: “Engaged at Sandringham!”

“We saw Meghan and Harry, and they were walking quite fast but they spotted our sign,” said Michael Metz, who had proposed to his girlfriend Ashley Millican just moments before, live on Sky News, while they were queueing up to catch a glimpse of a rather more famous newly engaged couple.

The pair, from Texas, told how the royal couple came over to congratulate them.

“Harry said: ‘Has this happened today? Oh well congratulations! Happy Christmas.’

“They asked us what we were doing for the rest of the day. We said we were going home to have roast turkey and watch the Queen’s speech and they laughed.”

Many among the waiting crowds, some of whom had arrived as early as 2:30am, had harboured hopes that the third in line to the throne and his little sister would be old enough to sit through the service. But the Duchess of Cambridge, resplendent in a tartan double-breasted coat and black fur hat, attended the service with just her husband.

The Duke and Duchess, who said they had left a “very excited” Prince George, four, and Princess Charlotte, two, back at the house, stopped to chat to a girl who had been waiting patiently outside the church.

Tallulah Read, nine, said the Duchess had asked her what she got for Christmas, and admitted that the little prince and princess had been

‘The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left a very excitable George and Charlotte back at the house’

“very excitable” this morning.

“Prince William said they had been trying to keep the children under control as there was much excitement back at home,” said Ann Boudier, who came to watch with her husband, Joe, and daughters, Hayley and Rebecca.

“I asked him if the children had opened any presents and they said yes, George was very pleased as he got a toy police car for his present.

“He said: ‘Thank you all for staying here and I hope you’re not too cold.’

“He is such a nice man. We’ve watched him and Harry grow into such nice gentlemen.”

Also present at the service were other members of the Royal family, thought notable by their absence were Zara and Mike Tindall and their daughter Mia, who are spending Christmas in Australia.

Mrs Tindall’s mother, the Princess Royal, told one onlooker that she thought Meghan and Harry made “a lovely couple”.

It has been a great year of change for the Royal family, as the Duke of Edinburgh announced his retirement at the age of 96, after decades of steadfast service, and the younger members of the family began to take on more and more ceremonial and charitable duties.

To see so many of the family together is an increasingly rare sight these days, but it is one that royal admirers will cherish.

For the thousands who had braved the cool, damp morning in the hope of catching a glimpse of them, the glorious sight of the family out in force and in good spirits made the waiting worthwhile.