Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter, missed the first Christmas at Sandrigham without her mother. Prince Charles’ sister was the big absentee at the walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church, near Sandringham House, for the Christmas service.
The entire royal family was present, including new faces such as Prince Louis and Princess Beatrice’s stepson Christopher Woolf. Despite that, the absence of the Princess Royal was felt.
Is Princess Anne ill?
Yes, according to several media reports, the 72-year-old princess presented some health problems, specifically a cold.
However, her children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, did attend the walk with their families to the church. Zara, 41, was accompanied by her husband Mike Tindall and daughters Mia, 8, and Lena, 4, while son Lucas, 1, did not attend.
Meanwhile, Peter, 45, walked with his daughters Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, daughters he shares with his ex-wife Autumn Kelly.
The Princess Royal: The hardest working member of the family
Despite her absence, this was one of the few times she has missed an official event as she is considered the hardest working member of the royal family in 2022, carrying out the most royal engagements.
According to the data, Princess Anne made 214 engagements this year, ahead of her brother, King Charles III, who recorded 181 engagements in the past 12 months.
According to The Time, Anne retains her crown as the hardest-working member of the royal family for the second year in a row, having recorded 387 official engagements in 2021, ahead of Charles, 74, who attended 385 events.
Anne assumed the escort of her mother’s coffin from Scotland, where the monarch died at Balmoral Castle on September 8. The Princess Royal had the privilege of sharing the last 24 hours of Elizabeth II’s life, for her it was an “honor and a privilege” to have accompanied her on her last journey.