Every year, the royal family gather at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, for a special Christmas service, a tradition that has been upheld for almost four decades. While this year will be very different as it will be the first time Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will not attend the family celebrations following the stripping of his titles by King Charles, behind the scenes, there is another reason why all may not go as planned this year.
According to the Telegraph, several members of the choir at St Mary Magdalene have reportedly boycotted rehearsals following the departure of Dr Claire Stewart, the church's director of music. The walkout threatens to disrupt the church’s Christmas Day service, which the Royal family traditionally attends. The publication reported that the walkout stemmed from an attempted overhaul of the choir at the behest of Rev Paul Williams, the domestic chaplain to the King and who was made rector of Sandringham in 2022, who commissioned former Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral, Tansy Castledine, to lead an 18-month review of the church’s 25-member volunteer choir.
The outcome, which was reported in a 16-page document, said that members had "no knowledge of music or singing technique" and should "aspire to higher standards" given their "opportunity to perform for royalty." Following the report, Dr Stewart is said to have delivered a counter 28-page dossier before taking a leave of absence and eventually leaving her role. Since then, members of the choir have left after an ultimatum was delivered to parents and guardians, and members of the parish have expressed their concerns.
All eyes on Sandringham
Sandringham has been in the headlines since the shock announcement last Thursday that King's brother Andrew will be stripped of his titles and forced to leave his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, which he 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.
It hasn't been confirmed which property on the Sandringham Estate Andrew will move into, but HELLO!'s Online Homes Editor, Rachel Avery, explained: "There are various properties on the Sandringham estate which could become Andrew's new abode. Wood Farm, where Prince Phillip used to like to stay has been noted as being unlikely, but there's also the newly decorated The Folly, the four-bedroom Gardens House, as well as Park House and York Cottage."
As for what Andrew's day-to-day life will look like on the Norfolk estate, which is open to the public all year round, HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash explains: "Despite the estate being open to members of the public, it is thought Andrew will keep a low profile when he resides there. HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash noted in her newsletter on The HELLO! Royal Club: "His day-to-day life may not actually look all that different from that at Windsor, given he has been living largely out of the public eye since 2019. Andrew has often been seen out riding in recent years, and that’s something he could easily continue at Sandringham, which is home to the Royal Stud. And as his disastrous Newsnight interview confirmed, he is fond of a 'straightforward shooting weekend', so he will have plenty of opportunity to indulge in that sport on the Norfolk Estate."