The family rise early on Christmas Day and gather for breakfast before leaving the house for a 9 a.m. service at the church of St Mary Magdalene. This first service is a private one for the royal family — so the Queen can take communion — and has a more relaxed dress code than the later public service. After returning to the house for a change of clothes, the family attend a public service at 11 a.m. Fancy singing carols with William and Kate? You're too late! All churchgoing locals who want to attend the Christmas Day service need to pass security checks in the Fall.
The family all walk to the church, apart from the Queen, who is driven. Her companion is usually daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, but in 2013, it was her granddaughter, the heavily pregnant Mia Tindall, who hitched a ride. Will Prince George go to his first Christmas Day church service this year? Maybe not. William and Harry were both five when they attended for the first time.
