The vicar of the church, the Rev Paul Williams, decided to bring in a consultant to review the choristers, who are all volunteers.

Tansy Castledine concluded, in a report published earlier this year, that the group needed to ”aspire to higher standards” and that they had ”no knowledge of music or singing technique”.

The choir’s long time leader, Dr Claire Stewart, went on sick leave brought on by stress and now the Director of Music has quit her post.

As a result, it’s reported that several choristers are boycotting rehearsals. Now it’s feared that they might not be in full voice for the Christmas Day service.

Although the service itself is never broadcast, it’s the most watched Christmas Day church ceremony in the country as crowds gather outside St. Mary Magdalene to see the Royal Family as they walk from Sandringham House. There’s always a walkabout afterwards, too, with millions seeing the royal Christmas on TV and online.

St. Mary Magdalene is in the Diocese of Norwich and a spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph that ”several members of the choir have continued to sing together throughout this time, including at sung services across the churches in the Sandringham group.”

There’s no chance of the Christmas Day service being cancelled. Not only would The King have something to say, the Diocese noted that ”there is a full schedule of services planned at Sandringham to celebrate the joy of Christmas.”

King Charles is expected to gather the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas. Last year, Queen Camilla also invited her own children to join them for the festive celebrations.

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https://royalcentral.co.uk/royal-news/christmas-day-royal-215071/

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