2022 marks the return of the Royal Family to Sandringham for Christmas. Prince Louis attended the traditional annual mass for the first time.
Prince Louis, the youngest of the British monarchy, took part in a royal tradition for the first time on Sunday: the youngest son of William and Kate took part in the Sandringham Christmas mass alongside his brother and sister, of his parents and grandparents, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
Since the late 1980s, the royal family has celebrated Christmas at their residence in Sandringham. But for the past two years, Queen Elizabeth II has decided that they will spend December 25 in Windsor. 2022 marks the return of members of the crown to Sandringham for the first time since 2019, as well as the first Christmas without the former monarch, who died on September 8.
The Christmas mass in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Sandringham is one of the essential rituals of these festivities. When last, three years ago, Prince Louis was less than 2 years old.
Hundreds of people gathered
As reported by BBC, onlookers approached the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. They were hundreds to gather to see the royal family heading to the church to attend the office of 11 am (local time), then leaving 45 minutes later. They then exchanged a few words with some members of the public.
The latter were able to see Prince Louis alongside his brother George (9 years old) and his sister Charlotte (7 years old). Several extended family members also attended the mass, including Prince Edward, his wife Sophie and their children, as well as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
The notable absentees were, of course, Harry and Meghan. At odds with the royal family since stepping down from their role in the monarchy in 2020, they made embarrassing new revelations for the crown in their Netflix documentary series, Harry & Meghanunveiled this month.
They notably claimed that Meghan Markle had become the “scapegoat of the palace”, and accused the royal family of having deliberately mounted the press against them. They also reveal the stormy scenes of their departure, and Harry declares that the British tabloids caused the miscarriage of Meghan.
