Sandringham on Christmas Day

[Rainbowglassbowl]

Have you been to the Sandringham church on Christmas Day to watch the Royal procession? If so, is it invite only or can anyone go?

My son’s in laws are from the USA and love the Royal Family. They are coming over to the U.K. for Christmas to see their DD/SIL and, as we don’t live too far from Sandringham, I think they would like to go and soak up the atmosphere. It would be a once in a lifetime moment for them.

If anyone has been, what’s the protocol? Can we park in the car park and wander over or do we need special permits or something?

TIA.

So it is semi private i.e. the Royals do not have to pay any upkeep, but the church enacts special rules of who can attend a service, for the benefit of the royals.
Jesus Christ would have been disgusted.

Yes she’s not wrong - but as you both say, she should’ve kept that particular opinion to herself.

Weird woman bringing a selection box - it will be binned by security staff, surely.

I hope the oddballs who turn up don’t try to poke and prod the kids. 🤮

@hopeishere I never even thought of that.

So it is semi private i.e. the Royals do not have to pay any upkeep, but the church enacts special rules of who can attend a service, for the benefit of the royals.

Not for the benfit of the royals. For the benefit of the local people, who worship there regularly, whether the RF are there or not.

The church isn't big enough to accommodate everyone who might want to attend on Christmas morning. Of course preference is given to the people whose local church it is. Or are you suggesting they should be excluded in favour of visitors who have only come to see the RF, and who might not othewise set foot in a church from one year to the next?

@MissRoseDurward are you saying any other day of the year anyone can go?

And lots of rural churches are small. It is first come first served. The church years ago everywhere else did away with saving pews for certain parishioners.

Weird woman bringing a selection box - it will be binned by security staff, surely.
Absolutely. Why would that woman even think that the children would be allowed to eat anything that is presented to them like that, strange.

We went and the in law parents are still on cloud nine!

Perfectly fits the kind of thinking of people who go there to see the royals

Yes they do donate them, and flowers usually end up in hospices

Aw that's lovely to hear 😊

Everyone has the right (legally) to worship at their CofE parish/local church. Visitors don't have that legal right.

Of course the local worshippers have priority (apart from anything else it is their regular giving that pays for the church day in, day out).

They look fine to me. It was a gray day, which affected the light. As an ignorant American it made sense to me that they used umbrellas (shades of Mary Poppins and it looked like rain). They would have looked more colorful in down puffers ( and been warmer) but I'm sure they would have been criticized for not wearing cloth coats.

Sorry, posted in wrong thread. 😔

Ooooh, lovely! Did you see all of them? What does Kate look like in real life? How tall are they all? Do dish!

I find the giving of sweets and toys to the Wales children, and the acceptance of them by the children, really uncomfortable. Some toys can be given away but will need to be checked, and the edibles will presumably need to be binned. Or are they all checked over beforehand by security?

And the children, through absolutely no fault of their own, end up looking like they've been trick or treating. I wish it could be stopped, and some boundaries put in. It's really bonkers.

Watching the videos back, yes it does look like they’re trick or treating.

We all got up v early, waited, got cold, waited and the IL parents took lots of photos. I made the executive decision not to get the phones out for the actual Royal procession which was surprisingly agreed upon so that we watched live, and in the moment rather than shoving a phone in their faces. We were at the back and incognito.

The Royals are much thinner in RL ie Sophie is teeny tiny. Princess of Wales is taller than you think. Everything was good natured,

I don't recall any of them strolling around with their hands full of chocolate loot in the past. Didn't TLQ always hand flowers to an attendant to carry?

Looks a bit tacky, TBH. Surely at the very least KC could have spared a used Fortnums carrier or two from his stash?

Or maybe have a policy where they only accept flowers and politely walk past the Cadburys, especially as it has lost its Royal Warrant.

Maybe the people were Cadbury employees who were planted there to get a photo of the royal kids with a selection box.

Glad they enjoyed it

I'm sorry but I think the whole thing has turned in to a zoo with the children as exhibits. Having everyone gawp at you when you are eleven or under, must be extremely disconcerting.

I’m surprised they’re allowed to take gifts from the crowd on security grounds

Yes it’s weird. Particularly the oddballs who then post on socials about how “grown up” the children look. Uncomfortable.

It’s not first come first served everywhere - the church in our village is pretty much only for regular parishioners on Christmas Eve.

You can go along, but regular parishioners are allowed in 15 minutes before non regulars and there ends up being only about 5/6 spaces left.

The small catholic Church in the next village does similar (they have an invite only event just before their carol service and midnight mass that ensures their regular attendees get access).

People giving gifts and chocolates to the children. As if they don't get all this and more.