The royal family's Christmas Day walk to Sandringham Church for the morning service has become something of a tradition: each year, fans of the King and his brood line the streets outside the church in the hopes of being able to chat, taking photographs and catch a glimpse of the country's most famous family.
This year, however, it seemed like all eyes were very much on the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, who had a very tough year after being diagnosed with and treated for cancer, sharing that she was disease-free in September of this year. While going through her health challenges, Kate stepped away from her royal duties to focus on getting better and her family – and Christmas Day marked the first time she interacted with a crowd of well-wishers in person.
According to a string of tweets on X, one royal fan (who claimed to be outside the church in Sandringham on the day) said that although the Princess' "voice wavered at first, from the moment she got out of church, she went to meet all the people there".
The tweets, shared via an account with the handle @LouisBchp, also said the Princess took ample time to greet those gathered to meet her.
"This was the first time the PoW interacted with the public in a year. She’s been so brave [...] She spent about 40 minutes with us, when it was really cold," the tweeter said. "She took time to listen and talk to everyone who had come to see her. I took this picture of her. THAT smile is real and speaks volumes. She was genuinely happy."
The X account even said that other members of the royal family had to nudge a security member into hurrying the Princess along after a while, as she was so enjoying speaking to people. "While other members of the Royal family had sped down the path, she stood there, allowed them all to outstrip her. Her husband had to call a security member to tell her to hurry."
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When previously sharing the news that she is no longer having chemotherapy, Kate added that she wasn't entirely out of the woods with her health quite yet.
In the Princess' statement in September, she said, "Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes. I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can."
It's great to hear that the Princess seemed to enjoy herself on Christmas morning and that she was well enough to meet with members of the public in an informal setting like that.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
