The Royal Family have been spending Christmas at Sandringham for decades, with senior members of the Firm often seen meeting members of the public on their morning walk to church.
The interactions with the public are often caught on camera by the press as the family are gifted flowers and presents before they head back to Sandringham for Christmas lunch.
One of the royals usually spotted each year is Princess Anne, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth and the sister of the now King Charles, who is commonly seen at the royal estate each year.
While the Princess Royal, 74, is a senior working member of the Royal Family – and often dubbed the hardest working royal – her interactions with the public are not as well documented.
However, during one Christmas walkabout, Anne was heard making a direct four-word remark to one member of the public.
After being handed a crafted flower bouquet by a royal fan, who said they had been up all night making it, the princess could be heard saying “you must be mad” in a light-hearted dig.
This was revealed by royal photographer Arthur Edwards on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show as he revealed he was so focused on getting a picture of Zara Tindall, Anne’s daughter, and her tongue piercing that year that he missed the chance to photograph Anne.
The royal photographer told The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson: “We’re all desperate to get this picture of the tongue, you see, and then I’m driving back to London, and the office rang and said ‘Have you got a picture of Princess Anne?’
“I said, no, no, this story is about Zara Phillips and the stud.”
Talking about why a photo of Princess Anne was needed, Arthur said: “She got a bouquet, Princess Anne, off one of the visitors.
“She said, ‘I’ve been up all night making this’, and Princess Anne said, ‘You must be mad’. And that was the story.”
While the exact guest list for Sandringham is unconfirmed, Princess Anne is likely to be there to support her brother the King on Christmas Day after what has been a difficult year for the monarch.
Prince William revealed last week that 45 members of the family are set to be at Sandringham for the big day, including himself, Princess Kate and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
