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.

That thought crossed my mind as well.

I saw one stupid woman asking for a selfie with Charlotte. I know she's in the public eye already but that just feels so wrong.

They'll bin the chocolates, it would be a risk to even give them away in case a lunatic has poisoned them. Maybe they keep the flowers once they've been checked by security to make sure nothing weird is hidden in them.

Thats also a massive change since QEII - she didn’t like any of them doing selfies. There’s not a chance a child would be having selfies with members of the public on her watch.

Some modernisation was inevitable in the changeover, but that I don’t think is a remotely good one.

i can’t imagine standing and turning their back to the crowd to have a selfie is something their security will be encouraging either

I think the flowers and soft toys are given to local hospitals. Edibles probably have to be binned. It is ridiculous for people to bring any of them, but a bit difficult for the RF to refuse them without looking snooty.

Thats also a massive change since QEII - she didn’t like any of them doing selfies

That sounds like one of those things made up by “royal commentators”. Elizabeth definitely let people she met take selfies with her.

Obviously they don't keep the loot. I imagine they are particularly wary of flowers after the whole Megan/Charlotte Lily of the Valley scandal.....🤣🤣🤣

They can keep the chocolate and they apparently eat it. Everyone who is there is security checked after all.

@MrsLeonFarrell "They can keep the chocolate and they apparently eat it. Everyone who is there is security checked after all."

I'm pretty sure this isn't accurate. Apart from anything else, surely they wouldn't be allowed that much chocolate? W&C are classic Mumsnet type middle class parents after all!

Not true. I suppose you think that they take the chocolates away to test them all, and then hand them back to people, who then give them to the children.

Can’t work out whether this post is a joke or not. None of those images is of a selfie with the late Queen.

No one think they take the chocolate and put it somewhere so all the children can share it. I really really don't understand this insistence that everything must be tested.

I would expect they they share it around, or maybe they keep a bit and donate a bit. I'm not wedded to the idea just think it's more likely than chemically testing everything.

Having got sidetracked into chocolate i haven't said that I don't actually agree with the children being asked for selfies but that is probably because I'm old and the weird social media culture we are now in is not my jam. Why on earth would I want a selfie with any famous person?

I don't think it will be tested,but they won't be given it, in case of tampering. Binned or donated.

After all, you can't even return any foodstuffs to a supermarket, I once bought a silverside joint of beef, instead of topside... tried to return it straightaway and they said no, it could have been tampered with.

So if a supermarket thinks this, I am sure royal security would think this.

Yeah she’s just in the background of someone’s selfie. Not posing.

Unless I’ve misunderstood what a selfie is. I am rather old.

Not even photobombing ☕

According to wikipedia, a selfie is a self-portrait taken with a smart phone. Specifically, ”a selfie may include multiple subjects; as long as the photo is being taken by one of the subjects featured, it is considered a selfie”.

In the photos I have posted, a self-portrait photo had been taken by the person/one of the people in the foreground with QEII as another subject in the background. In the third, it’s a photo of a selfie being taken - the selfie itself would obviously be on the boy’s phone.

I don’t see what the problem is?

Fuck me. I'm a poet and don't even know it a sleb.

Who could have guessed?! 🌟

Yeah but this is a family who thought it was a good idea to make two children walk behind their mother's coffin. They're completely insane.

Yeah but this is a family who thought it was a good idea to make two children walk behind their mother's coffin. They're completely insane.

This is a family who wanted to keep the boys at Balmoral where they could deal with their first grief privately, but the Great British Public demanded they returned to London and the Prime Minister (Blair) came up with the idea of them walking behind the coffin.

And the royal family gave in to appease the public.

@MissRoseDurward "
This is a family who wanted to keep the boys at Balmoral where they could deal with their first grief privately, but the Great British Public demanded they returned to London and the Prime Minister (Blair) came up with the idea of them walking behind the coffin"

They may have wanted to do that, but they didn't. They sacrificed the boys because they thought it would make the Royal Family look better. They could have just said No.

They may have wanted to do that, but they didn't. They sacrificed the boys because they thought it would make the Royal Family look better. They could have just said No.

And risk a Revolution? Were you around in 1997? I remember it well. The British Public were on a monumental Grief Thief mission and were baying for blood. Newspaper headlines yelled out Where’s our Queen in OUR hour of need? The nation was whipped up into competitive grief hysteria, Diana was canonised overnight whereas she was demonised barely 24 hours before her death.

So I disagree, they could not say No when Tony Blair was on a vanity project of his own.

The way the newspapers turned the anger people had at them toward royals was quite phenomenal (and should have been a warning of how powerful they were).

In the first few days they were the target as the chase for the photos was viewed as to blame.

Their turning it onto the royal family, particular the amazing flag saga, (a flag had never flown at half mast at Buckingham palace) was something else.

I certainly agree about the power of the press.

Having lived through that period though, I don’t think the Palace handled it well. BP allowed a vacuum to appear that the press took advantage of.

Of course it was right that the Queen wanted to stay with the boys up in Balmoral and they could have done that if they had been a bit more vocal and open with their communication.

What happened though was the usual ostrich head in sand approach which gave the wrong impression altogether.