At Sandringham, the British royal family was united like never before

Regimes come and go, traditions remain. This December 25, 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the royal family in procession to St. Mary Magdalene Church for a religious service, as did Queen Elizabeth III and Prince Philip.

Fans of the royal family woke up early to be in the front row. They did not disappoint this year either. Following the sovereign, the Prince and Princess of Wales held hands with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a more discreet than usual manner. He was not given the chance to play the clown by his cousin Mia Tyndall, the elder of Zara and Mike Tyndall.

2023 will mark a particularly big arrival for Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. While the mother of Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice is still on good terms with the Duke of York – to the extent that the two live together in the Royal Lodge at Windsor Gardens – the former duchess did not accompany Windsor to St Mary Magdalene. In the 1990s, her patience was no doubt finally rewarded, as well as the loyalty she is said to be closest to Queen Camilla… like a snap to Harry and Meghan, the clan still in the cold.

Among the “regulars”, Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Timothy Lawrence, or the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children Lady Louise Windsor and the young Earl of Wessex.

The public was also able to meet Princess Margaret's daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto, and her two sons, Arthur and Samuel. Her brother, the Earl of Snowdon, was also there, as was her daughter, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, now 21 and very beautiful.

At the end of the mass, the king and his family stopped to greet their admirers, receiving flowers, cards and, a little earlier, New Year wishes.