The bags are packed and the out of office is on! The Queen has officially kicked off her Christmas holidays. On Thursday afternoon, Her Majesty was spotted arriving at King's Lynn railway station in Norfolk via a train from London. The 92-year-old royal wrapped up warm, wearing a camel coat and a headscarf.
Surrounded by police escorts, she smiled warmly at well-wishers as she alighted her carriage. The Queen has made it a yearly habit to take the train from London to Norfolk. She is usually accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, 97, though this year he wasn't spotted in the photographs. The Duke spends the majority of his time in Windsor now that he is retired, but he was in fact down in London on Wednesday for the royal family's pre-Christmas lunch.
The Queen arrived in Norfolk via train
The Queen always travels on the day after her party at Buckingham Palace. The lunch is the perfect opportunity for the monarch to catch up with her extended family, as not all are invited to the celebrations at Sandringham. Senior royals including Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince William and Kate were pictured arriving at the palace on Wednesday. The Cambridges were joined by all three of their children including seven-month-old baby Prince Louis, and the youngsters' nanny Maria Turrion Borrallo.
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Meghan joins the royal family at Sandringham:
Prince Harry and Meghan travelled in another car, while other attendees included Mike and Zara Tindall, Peter and Autumn Phillips, Princes Edward and the Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
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Christmas is always a traditional affair for the royals. On the 24th, they open presents before sitting down for a formal dinner. On Christmas Day, they attend the church service at St Mary's Magdalene before retreating back to Sandringham House for a big lunch. Then in the afternoon, it'll be time to gather around the TV to watch the Queen's annual speech.
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