George and Charlotte tipped to join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas service

They might catch a glimpse of Prince George and Princess Charlotte who would attending the Christmas Day service for the first time.

But the Duke of Edinburgh is unlikely to attend the ceremony on the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk.

He was discharged King Edward VII’s hospital in central London on Christmas Eve after spending four nights there due to a pre-existing condition.

Prince Philip, 98, also missed the service at St Mary Magdalene Church last year to stay at home, despite being in good health at the time.

Unlike last year, it is unlikely the Duke of York will arrive with the Queen, amid the fallout from a car-crash interview about his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew stepped down from public duties for the foreseeable future following his appearance on BBC Newsnight, in which he showed little remorse for his relationship with the convicted sex offender.

In the interview, the duke denied claims he slept with Epstein’s alleged sex-slave Virginia Giuffre on three separate occasions.

In an attempt to cast-doubt on her accounts of what happened, he told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis that he ‘can’t sweat’ due to a medical condition.

Eyebrows were also raised when he said he distinctly remembered being at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night of one of the alleged incidents.

Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice is expected to be joined by fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi for the first time at the church, after the Daily Mail reported the Queen had extended an invitation to the property tycoon.

In another departure from last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not walk into the church side by side with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Harry and Meghan will instead be celebrating Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s first festive season with the duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland.

Their choice to spend Christmas away from Sandringham follows claims of a rift within the family.

Meghan and Kate were thought to have fallen out but appeared to make amends as they arrived together at last year’s service.

But since then a rift appears to have opened up between William and his younger brother Harry, who told an ITV documentary in October that they were ‘on different paths at the moment’.

As the head of the Church of England, the Queen is a key part of today’s royal celebrations.

Following the service, the Windsors enjoy a festive lunch back at Sandringham House and then settle down together to watch the Queen’s Christmas Day speech.

In her broadcast to the nation and the Commonwealth, the Queen is to acknowledge the ‘bumpy’ path the royal family and the nation has experienced over the past 12 months.