Queen Elizabeth II is now chauffeured to the church, she is 93 years old after all. Photo / AP
Queen Elizabeth II is now chauffeured to the church, she is 93 years old after all. Photo / AP
COMMENT
It will all happen about midnight, Australian-time. On December 25, while we are tucked up in bed sleeping off our gluttonous consumption of ham and pavlova, the royal family will be making their way from Sandringham to the small church on the estate.
Every year since 1952, Her Majesty has spent Christmas at her vast Norfolk home, and marks the actual day itself by attending the morning service at St Mary Magdalene.
Thus, every year, en masse, dozens of Windsors make the 464-metre journey to the small church on foot, a trip that takes around six minutes.
This year this simple tradition is far more than just another sweet, old-fashioned custom – it is a high stakes, highwire exercise that could either help repair the royal family brand after a turbulent, damaging year or be an unmitigated disaster.
As Prince Charles, his siblings, nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren walk along the famous path linking the castle to the church, waiting photographers will be there to capture every step (the Queen is now chauffeured to the church, she is 93-years-old after all).
Reports suggest Prince Andrew, Duke of York will be attending the Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene with the royal family. Photo / Getty Images
However, this year, those images will be markedly different to recent years thanks to a few conspicuous changes to the guest list.
To start with there is newly unemployed Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Reports surfaced earlier this month that despite being bluntly sidelined from public life, Andrew would be taking part in this year's walk to church. While technically this is a private family outing, it is one of the most high profile and visible gatherings of the royal family.
While it has been suggested that Andrew might travel to church in the car with his mother, his presence in any form could pose an inherent risks on a couple of fronts. Firstly that Andrew's exile will seem like nothing more than a superficial slap on the wrist and thus rile up an already fractious public.
Secondly, according to The Sun, palace officials have their ties in a twist over fears that sex abuse protesters might join the throng of the hundreds of royal fans who line the path to catch a glimpse of the HRHs. The damage that a photo of the royal family being assailed by placard wielding campaigners is of Titanic proportions.
Then there is the Sussex issue.
Last year, The Fab Four walked to church together with Meghan and Kate side-by-side in the face of stories saying the pair had a falling out. Photo / AP
In 2017, the Queen gave Meghan special permission to attend Christmas at Sandringham, a privilege usually reserved for only official members of the royal family. Images of the duo strolling alongside the Cambridges gave rise to a lot of talk about a new dawn for the royal family, this young photogenic generation would help cement the monarchy's future!
Fast forward to last year, when the walk became an exercise in damage control and to quash pesky rumours that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex had fallen out. They very pointedly made the short stroll to church side-by-side.
This year, the Sussexes will be conspicuously absent, having previously announced they would be spending the holidays elsewhere. The lack of Meghan's signature bright smile and Harry's cheeky grin among parishioners will only serve as an unfortunate reminder that the duo has finished the year reportedly increasingly isolated from his family.
(In October Harry seemingly confirmed swirling rumours that he and his brother prove William were on the out during the Sussexes deeply personal TV interview. In the wake of this, Wills was said to be "worried" about his younger brother.)
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, won't be spending Christmas with the royal family, and will instead be on a private holiday elsewhere. Photo / AP
Harry and Megan's decision to skip the family get-together will do nothing to dispel the impression held in some quarters that the Windsors have failed to adequately support the new parents during a tumultuous year.
While several notable faces missing this year, there is also the possibility that two new people will be joining the churchgoers, namely Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Photos of the two children, no doubt wrapped up in impossibly cute and impossibly expensive coats and patent leather shoes, would be an absolute PR godsend for the Queen & Co.
Shots of the impish, adorable duo accompanying their parents could go a very long way towards making the public (and the press) temporarily forget about any of those pesky Andrew and Sussex predicaments.
This might all sound trivial but the future of the monarchy is no longer simply something for scholars and the royally obsessed to quietly debate. Last week's UK general election saw the question of whether the very institution of the monarchy should continue erupt, provoking widespread public discussion. In Australia, discussion about whether we should become a republic has similarly surfaced of late.
All of which is to say that this period of time is shaping up to be a crucial moment for the Queen and is very much not the moment that they can afford to let public approval slip away.
The fact is, after a year that has seen the royal family battered and pummelled with a series of escalating PR controversies and crises, there is so much riding on this simple church walk.
Get it right and it they will reap the benefits of a huge injection of much-needed public goodwill. Get it wrong and there is every chance that even more damage will be done to Windsors' tarnished image.
