Princess Kate cracks a funny joke with a fan before realizing her family is waiting for her at Sandringham on Christmas Day

Princess Kate made a cheeky quip to a fan at Sandringham today as she was getting ready to leave the Christmas Day festivities. 

While the royal lady engaged in conversation with well-wishers eager to catch a glimpse of her and the rest of the group, her children and husband patiently waited a few feet away. 

Sweet snaps showed Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis chatting while Kate shook hands and accepted gifts. 

Upon noticing that her children and husband William had finished mingling with others, the Princess jokingly remarked to a fellow royal enthusiast: ‘It appears I have misplaced my family.’

The three young royals stood beside their father, William as they waited for the her to finish chatting. 

Crowds had gathered after the Royal Family’s Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church.

Earlier that day, Prince Louis, who is six years old, displayed his excitement as he happily received boxes of Cadbury chocolates and stuffed animals from admirers at Sandringham on Christmas morning.  

The youngster attended the special service at the church on the Norfolk estate with his parents.

After the service, senior members of the Royal Family, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, greeted well-wishers – laden with gifts – who began arriving outside the church yesterday evening. 

Louis looked visibly excited by the presents he received from members of the public – including a box of Cadbury’s chocolates, Christmas crackers, bouquets of flowers, and an assortment of stuffed toys. 

In a sweet video from this morning, a very happy Louis had his hands full of gifts before another well-wisher offered him a Father Christmas headband.  

The young prince accepted the headband, politely thanked the person who gifted it and returned to his father and siblings. 

Prince William, who was himself greeting well-wishers with enthusiasm, appeared amused by his youngest son’s haul and said: ‘You’ve got that as well’.

But when the family started to move along the path, Louis appeared to struggle to keep hold of everything he had received.

At that point, he returned to his father and sweetly asked: ‘Papa, can you carry some?’

Princess Charlotte and Prince George also graciously accepted their presents, as they waved to the crowds while standing alongside their father, Prince William. 

George, who will start secondary school next year, was twinning with his father, Prince William in a navy coat and matching trousers, while his younger sister wore a dark green coat that was almost identical to Kate’s Alexander McQueen number. 

Kate, meanwhile, stole the show as the future Queen exchanged warm hugs with royal fans, who appeared joyous at her return to Sandringham following what has been a particularly turbulent year for the Royals.   

The Waleses looked picture perfect as they arrived at Sandringham on Christmas morning, with Charlotte holding on to her father’s hand.   

Prince George, 11, walked confidently ahead of his siblings, while his younger brother Prince Louis refused to let go of Kate’s hand. 

Today, all eyes were on Kate as she looked as chic as ever, bearing no indication of the challenging year behind her and her father-in-law, 76, who was also diagnosed with cancer, for which he is still undergoing treatment.

Charlotte also accessorised with a matching velvet bow.  

Meanwhile, Prince Louis was dressed smartly, with the six-year-old wearing a coat, trousers, and a white shirt just like his elder brother.  

Kate, 42, was a sight to behold alongside Prince William, their three children, King Charles and other members of the Royal Family.

Her presence at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Norfolk Estate was revered and perhaps unanticipated following a painfully gruelling year for the Princess, who stunned the world with a shock cancer diagnosis in March 2024.

 The Princess underwent major abdominal surgery in hospital, after which doctors broke the news that they had found evidence of cancer and advised her to undergo treatment immediately.

The princess dazzled in a forest green Alexander McQueen coat that she previously wore during a visit to Leeds in 2023. 

Her silky brunette locks were styled in a classic blow dry while her make-up was simple for the daytime event. 

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their two children Archie and Lilibet remain in Montecito, California.

She walked past well-wishers who were visibly elated to catch a glimpse of the brave Princess in her essence. 

Her infectious smile was testament to her courage in the face of adversity as well as her work ethic, as the Christmas service marks just one of many official public engagements attended by the Princess since announcing her cancer treatment.

It is also the second time the Wales family have been seen together in public since their appearance at Trooping the Colour, the King’s birthday parade, in June. 

Prince William, 42, looked dapper in a suit and tie perhaps inspiring his eldest son’s dashing style.

 Hundreds of well-wishers have been queuing since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the royals, and waved excitedly as Prince William and Princess Kate made their way to the Church.

For the Royals, festivities usually start when everyone arrives on Christmas Eve. The family open presents, some of which are gag gifts – one of the Royal Family’s traditions.

The family then attend services at Saint Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning. Once they get home Christmas lunch is served, followed by afternoon games.

But it can also be used as a preventative option in the hope of stopping cancer coming back – with as much as 46 per cent decrease in returning cases, according to a 2019 study.

This time, two years ago, the Royals experienced their biggest change for decades as they celebrated their first festive period without Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September 2022.

The world was thrust into mourning at the news of her passing at age 96. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was rushed to Balmoral after doctors became ‘concerned’ for her health – she later died ‘peacefully’ surrounded by family.

The tragic moment would precede a string of devastating events that befell the Royal Family, most notably the Princess of Wales distressing cancer announcement.

She revealed in March that she had been undergoing preventative chemotherapy since late February, after being diagnosed with cancer.

 Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to attack tumours and is typically given to treat cancer directly or shrink a tumour in preparation for surgery.

In a video released in September, Kate admitted the last nine months had been ‘incredibly tough’ for her and her family.

‘The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you,’ she said. 

After six months of preventive chemotherapy the princess says she is now ‘cancer free’.

‘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,’ she added.

Initially the reason for Kate’s surgery was understood to be non-cancerous.

She later revealed subsequent tests had found cancer was present.

Kate was then advised to undergo a course of preventative chemo and described herself as being in the ‘early stages’ of that treatment.

Preventative chemotherapy, also called adjuvant chemotherapy, aims to stop cancer coming back once the main tumour has been removed from the body.

It has also taken its toll on her closest, with Prince William declaring 2024 the ‘hardest year in my life’ following his wife and father’s cancer diagnoses.

In a remarkably candid – and at times emotional – interview at the end of his official visit to South Africa in November, he admitted the past few months had been ‘brutal’. 

But the Prince also said how hugely ‘proud’ he was of Catherine and the King for handling their health battles with such dignity and bravery.

Slightly sighing and lowering his voice, he said: ‘Honestly? It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.

‘But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.

‘But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal’. 

And speaking earlier that week, he heaped praises on his wife for being ‘amazing this whole year’. 

Surely the Prince will continue to be a pillar of support for his father, King Charles, who will continue to undergo cancer treatment into 2025. 

Shortly before Christmas, a Buckingham Palace source said the 76-year-old’s health is still being ‘managed’ but is ‘moving in a positive direction’. 

Charles has been carrying on with his duties despite facing a personally challenging year in which both he and the Princess of Wales were diagnosed with cancer.

News of Charles’ cancer, undisclosed in its form, came out in February, after it was discovered while he was treated in hospital for an enlarged prostate in January.

He cancelled all face-to-face public duties but returned in April and has since travelled to France for D-Day commemorations, hosted incoming state visits for the Emperor of Japan and the Emir of Qatar, and undertaken a hectic tour to Australia and Samoa with the Queen, despite still undergoing outpatient cancer treatment.

Meanwhile Queen Camilla, 77, is battling her own health woes and is said to be recovering from a bout of pneumonia since returning from a royal tour of Australia and Samoa with her husband.

The chest infection has temporarily ruled her out of a series of royal duties and was at one time said to be resting at home in Wiltshire while being monitored by doctors.