The Princess Royal has been accused of
hurting the feelings of a pensioner who spent
hours making a basket of flowers to hand over
at the Christmas morning service.
The incident brought a sour note to the
traditional celebration at St Mary Magdalen
church on the Sandringham Estate.
The princess took a basket of flowers made by
Mary Halfpenny, 75, who had waited for hours
to see the Royals, and said: "What a ridiculous
thing to do."
Ms Halfpenny said: "It was a really hurtful
thing to say. I've made baskets of flowers for
the Queen and she has always said how nice
they are.
"It takes a long time,
about three hours, to
make a basket of
flowers and it costs me
about £10.00.
"I wanted Prince Harry
to give the basket to
the Queen Mother for
me but Princess Anne
just snatched it very
roughly."
Lesley Hirst, 53, from
Lancaster, added: "I think Princess Anne was
exceedingly rude - she just snatched the
basket from my friend."
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said later:
"The Princess Royal meets thousands of people
every year and it is clear that today there has
been a misunderstanding of some kind."
The Princess Royal is also said to have told her
nieces, Princess Beatrice, 12, and her
10-year-old sister Princess Eugenie, to "get a
move on" and not to take flowers from
well-wishers.
Queen Mother present
As well as readings and carols, the service
featured a sermon by the Rector of
Sandringham, Canon George Hall.
Members of the Royal Family mingled after the
service with the hundreds of well-wishers who
traditionally wait outside the church in Norfolk.
The Queen Mother was driven to the service,
and walked into the church with the aid of a
stick.
It had been uncertain if
she would be seen in
public again on Monday
following her
appearance at a
Christmas Eve service.
That was her first
public appearance
since falling and
breaking her collarbone
nearly two months ago.
The Queen has given
the first royal Christmas address of the new
Millennium.
Her speech to the nation was broadcast on
BBC One, Radio 4 and ITN simultaneously.
Royals list
The text and an audio/visual version is
accessible through the Buckingham Palace Web
site - www.royalinsight.gov.uk - and an
audio/visual version is being carried on BBC
News Online.
As many as 20 Royals are at the Queen's
Norfolk estate.
Those due to be at Sandringham this year are
the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen
Mother, Prince of Wales with Prince William,
18, and Prince Harry, 16, Duke of York with
Princess Beatrice, 12, and Princess Eugenie,
10, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess
Royal with husband Commodore Timothy
Laurence and daughter Zara Phillips, 19, and
son Peter Phillips, 23, Princess Margaret with
son Viscount Linley and his wife Serina, and
Margaret's daughter Lady Sarah Chatto with
her artist husband Daniel.
The Duchess of York is again expected to stay
with her children at Wood Farm, on the
Sandringham estate.
The Queen is also likely to call on Sarah for
tea.
Teenager Zara Phillips was expected at
Sandringham despite a car crash on Friday
when she escaped serious injury.
~*~
Belgian king warns against racism(BBC News)
We must be on our guard, said King Albert
The Belgian king has used his traditional
Christmas Eve address to warn his people of
the dangers of racism and right-wing
extremism.
King Albert said people had to remember the
lessons of the past - and guard against all
forms of racism.
Correspondents say the king's remarks are
being seen as veiled criticism of the right-wing
political party, the Vlaams Blok, which
campaigns for independence for Belgium's
Flemish population and opposes immigration.
The 66-year-old king
traditionally stays clear
of political issues.
But, recalling his visit to
Kosovo in October, he
said hard lessons could be drawn from a
decade of conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
"When one travels in those parts of the
Balkans, one is horrified by the ravages
caused, in our time and on our continent, by
extreme nationalism," he said.
"This truly incites us to remain on guard
against all forms of racism and excessive
exaltation of one's identity," he said.
"Let us remember the lessons of the past, and
not forget those of the Balkans today."
The Vlaams Blok made
significant gains during
local elections held in
Belgium in October.
It took one-third of the
vote in the country's
biggest Dutch-speaking
city, Antwerp, and
increased its share of
the vote in other major
cities in Flanders.
The increase in support
was seen as a backlash
against Turkish, Arab and African immigrants.
It is not the first time that the king's Christmas
message has included controversial material.
Pope's Christmas greeting
Last year, he used his Christmas Eve address
to confirm rumours that he had an illegitimate
daughter from an affair 30 years earlier.
Meanwhile, the Pope has opened Christmas
celebrations at the Vatican.
"Merry Christmas to all," Pope John Paul II told
pilgrims who had gathered in St Peter's Square.
Later on Sunday he is due to celebrate
Christmas Eve Mass in the square.
The day's symbolic events will include
homeless men bringing sleeping bags as the
first gift for the Christ child in a life-size
nativity scene set out in the square.
~*~
Queen Mother delights crowd at church service(Electronic Telegraph)
THE Queen Mother made her first public appearance yesterday since
breaking her collar bone in a fall at her home.
She joined other members of the Royal Family for a televised service at St
Mary Magdalen church on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk.
The Queen Mother, who celebrated her 100th
birthday in August, was chauffeured to the door
church in her golf buggy, arriving out of sight of
the 300 well-wishers who had gathered to see
the Royal Family.
But she delighted the crowd by leaving from the
front of the church with other members of the
royal party. Assisted by Doctor George Carey,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, who preached the
sermon at the service, she walked 30 yards along
the gravel path then carefully negotiated seven
stone steps made slippery by heavy overnight
rain.
The Queen Mother, who was wearing a three quarter-length plum coloured
coat with matching hat, held Dr Carey's arm as she walked down the path.
Outside the church, she joined the Queen in greeting local schoolchildren and
collecting bouquets of flowers before being driven away to applause and
cheers.
Buckingham Palace officials said the Queen Mother arrived at the rear of the
church because the access was easier and she did not have to climb steps.
Her decision to leave by the front was said to have been made at the end of
the 30-minute service.
Onlookers said her decision to walk had "made their day."