2016 hasn’t been the Christmas that The Royal Family had been hoping for. Instead of celebrating the festive season, other unfortunate events have overshadowed the celebrations.
On Christmas Eve, it was announced that Zara Tindall had suffered a miscarriage at around four months into her pregnancy.
The news came just four weeks after Zara and her husband Mike, disclosed how thrilled they were to be expecting a second child. The wider Royal Family were also looking forward to welcoming a new addition to the family, with a spokesperson saying The Queen and her family were “excited” by the news.
Saturday’s announcement that the Tindall’s had lost their child would have no doubt come as a huge shock to the family, and they requested privacy.
Zara and Mike were absent from the Church service at Sandringham on Sunday morning as they grieve their loss.
The other defining moment of Christmas 2016 that has overshadowed the festivities is The Queen’s illness.
Her Majesty has been known to have been suffering from a cold since at least Wednesday, when she cancelled her travel arrangments to Sandringham due to a “heavy cold”.
Prince Philip also fell ill to a heavy cold, and was initially worse off than The Queen.
However, as Christmas Day came nearer, The Duke got better but Her Majesty was still recovering from her sickness.
As a result, she wasn’t able to attend the Christmas morning Church service at St Mary Magdalene Church for the first time since 1988. Before 1988, Her Majesty attended a church service at Windsor meaning this was the first time The Queen was absent from communion in recent living memory.
The church service is the only public appearance the Royal Family make on December 25th. Afterwards, she hosts Christmas dinner for senior members of the family, before settling down to watch The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast at 3pm.
Hopefully Christmas 2017 will be merrier for The Royal Family, with everybody together at Sandringham.