British Royal Christmas 1: 2008-2021


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cepe said:
Hereditary Princess The Queen and Prince Philip are at Sandringham until 6th February.Visitors come and go but I expect the Princess Royal to be at Gatcombe early in the new year as Zara is due to give birth.
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Thank you cepe. :) I didn't know they stayed there for that long.
I agree with you regarding Anne and her family.
 
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Marty91charmed said:
Home - ITNSource News
silly question: why did HM called Kate to take flowers? I didn't see the little girls saying they were for Kate
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My guess would be that the police had grouped the children accordingly. Those who had flowers for HM went closer to the church steps. Those who had flowers for Kate were in another group.:flowers:
 
The Queen reigns in purple as she joins the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales for church at Sandringham | Mail Online

Apparently the Queen did not collect flowers from children at church today, the article says a policeman told one member of the crowd that there were so many children on Christmas Day that by stopping to collect then all they had made the Queen late for lunch.
Apparently the children today were asked to hand them to Princess Anne today instead, the article says that because there were so many on Christmas Day the Duchess of Cambridge was asked to help collect them.
 
H.M.The Queen looked marvelous today attending Church at St Mary Magdalene church on the Sandringham estate.
 
She does look marvelous and I just knew HM wouldn't disappoint me since she wore the Kent Amethyst brooch, one of my all-time favorite jewels.
 
Some members of the royal family will be there until after 6th February - the Queen stays until then to remember the passing of her father at Sandringham on that day and thus her accession at the place where he died.

Usually Edward, Sophie and their children stay until very close to the need to return home for the children to return to school.

Charles usually goes to Scotland after a few days more at Sandringham than just Christmas and Boxing Day and Camilla usually joins him there, having gone home to spend some of the holidays with her own children and grandchildren.

It is possible that less well known members of The Queen and/or Philip's family will join them for a few days or a week or so e.g. sometimes one or more of Philip's nieces or nephews and family join them (his sisters used to do so when alive and since their passing - last to do so was late 2001 about 6 weeks before The Queen lost Margaret and then lost her mother - their children have continued to visit Uncle Philip and Aunt Lilibet).

Andrew and the girls take off pretty quickly to be with Sarah for the holidays. When she was allowed to stay in a cottage on the estate then Andrew and the girls would stay longer.
 
tommy100 said:
The Queen reigns in purple as she joins the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales for church at Sandringham | Mail Online

Apparently the Queen did not collect flowers from children at church today, the article says a policeman told one member of the crowd that there were so many children on Christmas Day that by stopping to collect then all they had made the Queen late for lunch.
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The DM called this controversial, but really, the Queen is almost ninety.
No one seems to think she may not be up to walking around in the cold for hours after church to meet and greet people!

She looks fine for her age but it is obvious she doesn't have the stamina she once had. Why can't people be more understanding instead of carrying on about how they were disappointed?
 
The Queen reigns in purple as she joins the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales for church at Sandringham | Mail Online
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I just can't believe the tone of this article . I know it's the DM but C'mon. ...
 
Nico said:
I just can't believe the tone of this article . I know it's the DM but C'mon. ...
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It appears Ms. Harding did not bother to tweet about this bit of vitriol. You can send your love to @EleanorHarding
 
Nico said:
I just can't believe the tone of this article . I know it's the DM but C'mon. ...
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Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one and she is 87. Maybe she just NEEDED to get home :whistling:
 
Mirabel said:
The DM called this controversial, but really, the Queen is almost ninety.
No one seems to think she may not be up to walking around in the cold for hours after church to meet and greet people!

She looks fine for her age but it is obvious she doesn't have the stamina she once had. Why can't people be more understanding instead of carrying on about how they were disappointed?
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1. It wouldn't have been for hours - about 10 minutes at most
2. She wouldn't have had to walk as they come to her.

She could have even sat down in the car and had them present their flowers if that was the issue.

This isn't going down well and appears to be a matter of her not being bothered - badly handled by the royal PR (but they are experts at getting the PR side of their jobs wrong).
 
I think last year The Queen did accept flowers from the kids and others after Christmas but the woman is old you know. She probably had it planned for Princess Anne and others to accept the flowers on her behalf. Also, she probably had something to do back at the house. I don't think The Queen was being rude of snubbing anyone.
 
Iluvbertie said:
1. It wouldn't have been for hours - about 10 minutes at most
2. She wouldn't have had to walk as they come to her.

She could have even sat down in the car and had them present their flowers if that was the issue.

This isn't going down well and appears to be a matter of her not being bothered - badly handled by the royal PR (but they are experts at getting the PR side of their jobs wrong).
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She also could have needed to get home to use the bathroom. What is she going to do? Announce it to all she's going to the royal loo?

She's not a puppet and people shouldn't expect her to act on demand.
 
She has been trained to be prepared for that eventuality and would have gone before she left for the 1 - 2 minute drive to church and so wouldn't have that excuse at all.

She snubbed people who had travelled to see her and that is bad PR - those of you who are excusing her breaking a tradition she has followed with no reasonable excuse given aren't looking at this situation realistically - the royal family are celebrities and rely on the good will of the people to continue with their existence. If they lose that goodwill they will lose their position.

The Queen was trained by Queen Mary and she taught her granddaughter that royalty is 'never tired'. The Queen failed in her duty on this occasion - her duty to greet her loyal subjects and may very well have turned some of them into republicans in one go.
 
Iluvbertie said:
She has been trained to be prepared for that eventuality and would have gone before she left for the 1 - 2 minute drive to church and so wouldn't have that excuse at all.

She snubbed people who had travelled to see her and that is bad PR - those of you who are excusing her breaking a tradition she has followed with no reasonable excuse given aren't looking at this situation realistically - the royal family are celebrities and rely on the good will of the people to continue with their existence. If they lose that goodwill they will lose their position.

The Queen was trained by Queen Mary and she taught her granddaughter that royalty is 'never tired'. The Queen failed in her duty on this occasion - her duty to greet her loyal subjects and may very well have turned some of them into republicans in one go.
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But is she really a puppet? We have been given no reason actually why she acted as she did. Do we really have the right to demand that? Well trained or not, she's an elderly lady of 87 years old. Not a fish in a Fishdom3 fishbowl.
 
She is a celebrity and when she is in public she is on show and has to perform - she was in public and so had to perform. If she didn't want to do that then she shouldn't have gone out in public. Simple.

It isn't as if they asked much and she has done it every time in the past so she set the precedent and then decided not to do so this year with a pathetic excuse given of 'she was late for lunch on Wednesday so decided not to stay today' - that is just lame.

The BRF have to realise that if they lose the goodwill of the public they lose their jobs and wealth and this is the sort of thing that will lose them the goodwill of the people - the photo of the small boy with his flowers and her turning her back and getting into the car isn't a good look for her, her family or her PR machine and those who excuse that behaviour are doing so through rose-coloured glasses of 'she is an old woman' 'she might have been tired' 'she does it every other time'. Regardless she is the one they wanted to see, was in public and so has to do her duty. If she can't do it then step down and let someone who can do it.
 
Iluvbertie said:
She is a celebrity and when she is in public she is on show and has to perform - she was in public and so had to perform. If she didn't want to do that then she shouldn't have gone out in public. Simple.

It isn't as if they asked much and she has done it every time in the past so she set the precedent and then decided not to do so this year with a pathetic excuse given of 'she was late for lunch on Wednesday so decided not to stay today' - that is just lame.

The BRF have to realise that if they lose the goodwill of the public they lose their jobs and wealth and this is the sort of thing that will lose them the goodwill of the people - the photo of the small boy with his flowers and her turning her back and getting into the car isn't a good look for her, her family or her PR machine and those who excuse that behaviour are doing so through rose-coloured glasses of 'she is an old woman' 'she might have been tired' 'she does it every other time'. Regardless she is the one they wanted to see, was in public and so has to do her duty. If she can't do it then step down and let someone who can do it.
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Thanks.. I do see your explanation as being purely rational but it only makes me realize how much the family in a fishbowl is on demand. We have no clue why HM was abrupt. We only see the poor little boy that was disappointed. Its not like he was actually scheduled to present to the Queen and she said "naff off" or similar. It didn't happen and the media is making a mountain out of a molehill again.
 
She wouldn't wait a few extra minutes to receive flowers from the children who had gathered to present posies to her because she had been late for lunch on Christmas Day? If this is indeed the reason, I don't think it's a very good one. Not very good for PR, Your Majesty.
 
I am a little bemused by such fuss over this and VERY much doubt the Queen would prefer an early lunch over greeting the public. Quite frankly, if people want to treck half way round the country to MAKE their children hand over flowers to the Queen, they take the risk that they will not be able to do so - it's common sense!
How many thousands of people turn up at royal events throughout the year all over the world to get a glimpse of royalty only to be disappointed that the crowd is too big or the car went by too quickly or they didn't shove their children to the front soon enough, or if they did, the child doesn't actually want to give the flowers over to the strange lady in the big hat??!
What's going to happen next time....."my child wants to give you flowers and if you don't stop and let him give them to you, I'll make him join the republic movement"?!
 
What method of transportation do each members of the RF use to get to and from Sandringham?

I know the Queen & Phillip came on the train. Do they go back on the train?

From Sandringham to Raymill is a 4 hour drive about 220 miles.
From Sandringham to Buckleburry is about 157 miles which takes about 3 hours and fifteen minute drive. (per google)

That seems like a long drive especially with no stops.
 
Jacknch said:
I am a little bemused by such fuss over this and VERY much doubt the Queen would prefer an early lunch over greeting the public. Quite frankly, if people want to treck half way round the country to MAKE their children hand over flowers to the Queen, they take the risk that they will not be able to do so - it's common sense!
How many thousands of people turn up at royal events throughout the year all over the world to get a glimpse of royalty only to be disappointed that the crowd is too big or the car went by too quickly or they didn't shove their children to the front soon enough, or if they did, the child doesn't actually want to give the flowers over to the strange lady in the big hat??!
What's going to happen next time....."my child wants to give you flowers and if you don't stop and let him give them to you, I'll make him join the republic movement"?!
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I agree completely that anybody who goes to see a member of a royal family risks completely the chance they may to see them for a variety of reasons and to act as if they have been hard doe by or wronged for some reason because of it is ridiculous. Royals are people and can't meet everyone or appear on demand.
That being said the Queen, more than perhaps any other royal, is a stickler for tradition and doing the same thing time after time. The fact is this is a break with what normally happens, she has accepted flowers may times before so why not now?
Change is not a bad thing and most people would likely accept that at her age the Queen doesn't really want to necessarily spend time in the cold collecting flowers (that she most likely doesn't see again).
However to me the issue is how its been handled, one report said it was a policeman who told the crowd that because she had accepted flowers on Christmas day she was late for lunch but equally the BBC reported that this was at the least confirmed by palace officials. It doesn't take a PR genius to see that this is a ridiculous reason to give for not collecting flowers from children and that the media will spin it into effectively snatching candy from a baby. If the Queen doesn't want to collect flowers because she is too tired, too old, too cold or even if she simply doesn't really want people waiting outside a church for her every time she goes, then that is fair enough (and I can see why any of those would be a good reason). BUT the Palace should say so, not let it be said that dinner being served on time is more important than greeting the public (and as the media have spun it, children) this just lets the media suggest the Queen looks distant, uncaring and rather imperious IMO.
 
In the DM article, it stated that the Queen doesn't always collect flowers per her office.

The officer was the only one that made the comment about being late for lunch and her office stated that the Queen eats late.
 
Queen Camilla said:
In the DM article, it stated that the Queen doesn't always collect flowers per her office.

The officer was the only one that made the comment about being late for lunch and her office stated that the Queen eats late.
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There is a woman that knows how to bow out gracefully when needed. Her time at Sandringham is her "away" time and private. Where is it written that she owes the gathering?

Personally I bet she needed to use the loo. Anyone check her outfit to see a hint of a Depends or like?

I seriously hope the DM doesn't read this forum.. I'm just surmising is all.
 
There are a few issues involved here.

1. The Queen has just delivered a Christmas Message in which she reminded us of the pledge of lifetime duty to her subjects which she made 60 years ago.
2. As part of that duty over the years, the Queen has made a habit of walkabouts among her subjects and receiving bunches of flowers from them. Now, I think that receiving of bunches of flowers businiess was a strange habit to encourage, because no secret is made of the fact she doesn't keep them, but it is now traditional for people to give them to her and for children, particularly, to do so, no doubt encouraged by their parents.
3. When the Queen does the same thing at the same place year in, year out, it's not unreasonable for her subjects to expect her to keep doing that thing.
4. The Queen is getting on and it's reasonable for her to change her habits and with her advancing age it's likely that there will be sudden changes to her plans due to her suddenly becoming tired or not feeling well, etc., but when one of these traditions involving the all-important connection between monarch and subjects is to be varied, the public needs to be given notice of it or, where notice is not possible, at least be given a good explanation because often they will have spent a lot of time in uncomfortable conditions getting ready for and travelling to and waiting at the venue. The statement that Her Majesty didn't want to be late for lunch, whether true or not, is NOT a good explanation, and her PR people should have been better prepared.
 
Maybe she was unwell.

The article does state that Princess Anne smiled when she saw her mother's car. Maybe the Queen wasn't going to attend church because she was unwell but changed her mind.

Clearly Princess Anne knew ahead of time, she was going to collect the flowers for the Queen. Has Princess Anne previously collected flowers for the Queen after the Sunday service or was this a "break in tradition"?
 
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