His Majesty King Charles III will be marking Christmas Day at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham as he always does, but this year will be a little different, and that’s thanks to an invisible change. HELLO! can confirm that the church on the monarch’s Norfolk estate has been renovated, including tackling one pesky problem – a noisy floorboard!
The squeaks from a rogue floorboard distracted the congregation so much that they fought to have it replaced as part of a larger refurbishment costing almost £7,000.
Other changes inside the 16th-century building include replacing the ‘threadbare’ red carpet in the congregational pews for a sum of £4,000, cleaning the mosaic flooring and replacing the clock on the church tower. The parish room, which is attached to the rectory, has also been given a whole new refit. The total bill comes to £6,765, and is the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council.
© GC ImagesLocal Colin Smythe has said: “The squeaky floorboard was very irritating – every time someone stepped on it the solemn mood was ruined, it’s great it has now been repaired so services will be more peaceful.”
It is a special place for Prince William as both his mother, the late Princess Diana, and his own daughter, Princess Charlotte, were christened at the church.
The church has been a focal point of royal worship since Queen Victoria’s reign and is, of course, well known for having royalty at the Christmas service each year.
Christmas last year
© Victoria Jones/ShutterstockIn 2024, Charles and Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children for the festive gathering. In attendance were also the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their kids, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Mike and Zara Tindall and their daughters, and Peter Phillips and his children.
HELLO! understands that the Queen’s children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, also joined the service with their respective children, but arrived privately.
Will Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor be at the Christmas Day service?
© UK Press via Getty ImagesIn 2024, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (who was then still Prince Andrew) did not attend the service due to his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, so with renewed controversy around the issue, and the fact that Charles has now stripped his titles, it is believed he will not be joining the family this year either.
While the royal won’t be at Sandringham for Christmas, it’s looking like the Norfolk estate will become his full-time home in 2026. Andrew has been forced to leave his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, which he currently shares with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. It has since been revealed that Andrew will relocate to a property on the monarch’s Sandringham Estate, but we do not know which one.
Having written about the Sandringham Estate for the past five years as HELLO!’s Homes Editor, I’ve come to learn that it is a massive estate with many different outbuildings and there are a number of options for the disgraced royal to live in once he departs Royal Lodge.
