The Reported Reason Princess Anne Missed Sandringham Christmas Walk

Christmas 2022 for the royal family was anything but familiar. After a 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth died in September, and this Christmas marked the family's first without their beloved matriarch. It was also the first Christmas that King Charles III made the church trip at Sandringham as monarch.

Though all surely felt the absence of the late queen, the royal family tried their best to keep the holiday as festive as possible. One tender moment was the addition of Prince Louis on the walk to Sandringham, who delighted those in attendance, along with his brother, Prince George, and sister, Princess Charlotte (via People). It was the first time William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine Middleton, Princess of Wales, made the walk since being given those titles, as well as the first time that all of their children attended.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were notably missing again this year as they chose not to attend the royal family's traditional festivities. The couple hasn't participated since 2018 (via Elle).

Yet another important royal member also missed the walk. Anne, Princess Royal, was not present at the Sandringham ceremony.

Princess Anne was sick with a cold

Anne, Princess Royal, did not attend the annual Sandringham Christmas walk, but not because of any scandal or a break with the family. The Mirror reports that Queen Elizabeth's only daughter skipped Christmas festivities because she came down with a cold. However, Anne's children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips did attend and make the walk to church.

At 72, Princess Anne is reportedly taking a much-needed break over the Christmas holiday. Though Anne is typically very healthy and a definite hard worker in the royal family, this illness is giving her time to rest after an extremely busy year in which she also lost her mother. She has attended 214 royal engagements in 2022 alone, per theĀ Daily Mail.

Though the official word is that Anne is suffering from a cold, COVID-19 is still making the rounds around the world. Though her husband, Sir Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, came down with COVID last year, Anne never did.

Still, in early December, COVID cases were steadily rising even before family Christmas gatherings (via Sky News), which are also expected to cause an increase in cases.