Royal youngsters make debut at church service
PRINCE George and Princess Charlotte have joined the Queen at the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day church service on her Sandringham estate for the first time.
George, six, and four-year-old Charlotte walked the short distance from Sandringham House to St Mary Magdalene Church hand in hand with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The Prince of Wales walked alongside them.
One-year-old Prince Louis stayed at the house.
The 93-year-old Queen, wearing a red coat and hat, arrived at the church in a maroon Bentley with the Duchess of Cornwall.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 98, who was discharged from hospital on Christmas Eve, was at Sandringham but did not attend church.
He had spent four nights at the King Edward VII Hospital in London to receive treatment for a “pre-existing condition”.
Philip, who retired from public duties in 2017, did not attend last year’s church service either despite being in good health at the time.
The Duke of York, who has had a tumultuous end to the year after his disastrous appearance on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, walked side by side with Charles to a private service at 9am but did not attend the 11am service.
Meanwhile, during her Christmas Day message, the Queen said has been “struck” by the “sense of purpose” younger generations have shown in tackling issues like climate change.
Her comments follow a year which has seen young people inspired to become environmental campaigners by the example of schoolgirl activist Greta Thunberg.
During her annual address the Queen acknowledged the “bumpy” path her family and the country has faced during the past 12 months, but mentioned some of the positives like the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first child.
She highlighted how often “small steps, not the giant leaps” bring about lasting change in the world and how the Christmas message of peace and goodwill still has relevance today.