The British royal family has been attending a special Christmas service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham for nearly 40 years. Although this year will be considerably different because Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will not be attending the family celebrations for the first time after King Charles stripped him of his titles, there is another reason why things could not go according to plan this year.
Once Dr. Claire Stewart, the church’s director of music, left, several St. Mary Magdalene choir members apparently skipped rehearsals. The British royals usually attends the church’s Christmas Day service, which could be disrupted by the boycott, The Telegraph reported.
According to the article, the boycott resulted from an attempt to restructure the choir at the request of Rev. Paul Williams, Charles‘s domestic chaplain who was appointed rector of Sandringham in 2022. Williams hired Tansy Castledine, a former director of music at Peterborough Cathedral, to oversee an 18-month evaluation of the church’s 25-member volunteer choir.
The choir members had “no knowledge of music or singing technique” and should “aspire to higher standards” given their “opportunity to perform for royalty,” according to the decision, which was documented in a 16-page document. Before taking a leave of absence and ultimately quitting her position, Dr. Stewart is reported to have produced a counter-28-page dossier in response to the study. Following the delivery of an ultimatum to parents and guardians, choir members have now departed, and parishioners have voiced their worries.
Since the shocking announcement last Thursday, the king’s brother Andrew would lose his titles and be compelled to vacate his Windsor estate, Royal Lodge, which he occupies with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson; Sandringham has been in the news. Since then, it has come to light that Andrew will move to a house on the British monarch’s Sandringham estate.
The Sandringham estate property that Andrew will live in has not yet been announced.