This member of the Royal Family was noticeably absent from Sandringham Christmas service

The royals have kicked off Christmas festivities with the annual church service – but one face was missing from the lineup.

Members of the royal family arrived for the Christmas Day church service in sunny but wintry Sandringham.

King Charles and Queen Camilla led the way to the service past crowds of royal fans, with beaming Kate walking along with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, with William and Prince George also attending.

But the former Prince Andrew was nowhere to be seen.

Now commoner Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his royal titles last month in the aftermath of his alleged links to the financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and one of his accusers, Virginia Giuffre, coming to light. Andrew has always denied any accusations of wrongdoing.

However, the scandal has led to a fall from grace for Andrew, who was given notice to move out of the Royal Lodge in Windsor after being stripped of his titles by his brother Charles.

While Andrew had stayed away, his daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, along with their husbands, were in attendance.

The Princess Royal and husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall and her husband, former England rugby player Mike Tindall, were a few steps behind the King.

Huge crowds of fans tried to snap pictures of the senior royals who all appeared in good spirits despite the ongoing family drama involving Andrew.

Lucky fans, some of whom had arrived yesterday evening to secure a good spot, spoke with Kate, who stayed behind to greet people at length. It appeared Princess Charlotte, 10, Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, 7, greeted the crowd without a chaperone although their dad, Prince William, was nearby.

Fans seemed to echo that the royal family had handled the scandal with Andrew in the right way. One fan said he enjoyed meeting the King and Queen, and he wouldn’t have minded if Andrew had attended too.

Some royal fans had travelled from overseas, including Sara Morelli, 27, who runs a British royal family shop in Modena, Italy.

She said: ‘I’m spending my Christmas with the royal family.

‘I like Prince William and Princess Catherine and I have big love for Queen Elizabeth.

‘The princess is very empathetic, she has empathy for people and that is something I love. William is very friendly and of course I love his mother, Lady Diana she was a very important woman.’

The former Duke of York Andrew is thought to be spending his Christmas at the Royal Lodge, where he has been living rent-free for two decades. He will reportedly move a property, Marsh Farm, on the Sandringham Estate in the new year.

Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, was living with him at the lodge for years, but she is believed to be looking to move out as well.

In the latest blow to Andrew’s reputation, a new tranche of Epstein files released by the US department of justice revealed a new photo appearing to show Andrew stretched on the laps of four women with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend currently service a prison sentence, watches on.

Although the photo does not imply any wrongdoing, the latest Epstein file release has increased pressure on Andrew to assist an ongoing FBI investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

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