After a year fraught with health concerns, the Royal Family managed to safely gather this Christmas, marking the end of a challenging year. Members of the extended family made their way to Sandringham to celebrate the festive season, however, this year’s guest list was noticeably slimmed down, with several family members missing, including Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
While these absences were widely publicised beforehand, there were also two more iconic guests who were notably absent – and it’s not who you might think.
Former Royal chef Darren McGrady previously told the Mail on Sunday that in past Christmases, even the late Queen’s corgis were treated like family members and served a delicious Christmas dinner. The celebratory meal typically included rabbit, beef or chicken served with cabbage and rice to mark the special occasion – with up to 12 of the lucky dogs dining with the family.
Queen Elizabeth was famous for her love of corgis
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Sadly, after the Queen passed away in 2022, her two surviving corgis went to live with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Their absence this year, due to the ongoing alleged spy controversy involving Chinese diplomat Yang Tengbo, meant that the dogs weren’t present at Sandringham for the usual Christmas celebration.
Instead, Sarah and Andrew spent Christmas at Royal Lodge in Windsor where they privately celebrated the festive season amid the fallout of several scandals, reports the Mirror.
Prince Andrew, who famously withdrew from Royal duties back in 2019 following his links to the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein, has surfaced at key Royal events such as the annual Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church and the Queen’s funeral, despite prior controversy.
More recently, he attracted attention due to his alleged ties with the accused spy Yang Tengbo. The Duke released a statement through his office expressing that “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.”
Prince Andrew spent Christmas at Windsor this year
(Image: (Image: Getty))
The statement continued: “The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
Adding to the family dynamics, Princess Eugenie was not present for this year’s Royal holiday festivities, choosing instead to celebrate her first Christmas with husband Jack Brooksbank’s family along with their sons August and Ernest. On the other hand, Princess Beatrice did join the celebrations with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, daughter Sienna and stepson Wolfie, as they expect the arrival of their second child.