Hopes for King Charles III to continue Sandringham tradition

Members of the Royal Family leave St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate on Christmas morning in 2014

Sandringham House has been a royal residence for four generations of British monarchs for a period of more than 150 years.

It has traditionally been where the Queen spent her Christmas break and where adoring crowds would gather to greet the Royal Family on Christmas morning as they left St Mary Magdalene Church.

As local residents in Norfolk make plans to watch her funeral on Monday, their thoughts are turning to whether the new King will continue this long-held and much-loved tradition.

Jasmine Ransome and her husband Matthew have often seen the Queen while walking the dogs

Jasmine Ransome lives in Pott Row, near Sandringham, with her husband and three dogs.

The 25-year-old support worker says ever since she was a child, Christmas morning has always involved a visit to Sandringham.

"The Queen was hugely important to us. We liked to say she was our neighbour - we used to see her often at Sandringham," says Ms Ransome.

"You see the Royal Family driving around, so I felt like I'd better go [to Sandringham] and lay some flowers.

Sandringham House in west Norfolk has been used by the Royal Family at Christmas for decades

"I would have loved to go to London [lying in state] but the queues put me off a little bit.

"If there's a big screen planned for anywhere in Norfolk I'm going to try and go somewhere like that to watch the funeral."

She says Christmas "definitely won't be the same without the Queen", but hoped the new King would continue the tradition of spending it at Sandringham.

Bodhi Tokelove, who traditionally visits Sandringham on Christmas Day, has planted a tree in memory of the Queen

Bodhi Tokelove, 32, has for several years, with his husband Ashley, taken a walk to Sandringham on Christmas morning.

He hopes the tradition of the Royals spending Christmas in Norfolk will continue.

"I'm not sure how it's going to be this year. [The King] he's done a lot of work at Sandringham on the estate, so I would assume he would, but it's difficult to predict," says Mr Tokelove.

"The Queen obviously had a lot more memories there, with her father King George VI dying at the House, and it was a place she liked to visit regularly."

The Queen gifted Anmer Hall, a Georgian country house which is part of the Sandringham Estate, to the Prince and Princess of Wales after their wedding, and Mr Tokelove hopes this will keep the Royal connections alive.

He has planted an apple tree in the garden of his new home in memory of the Queen. "It's my nod to her," he says.

Rachel Bone (centre, right) visited Sandringham with members of her family following the Queen's death

Rachel Bone, 53, lives in Watton, and together with some of her family made the trip to Sandringham to leave flowers and tributes to Her Majesty on Sunday.

The railway innovation manager says: "I do think she was a very inspirational lady, to men as well, but predominantly females, and I wanted to go and pay my respects.

"She did an awful lot for this country and we felt we needed to go."

She says several generations of her family will come together to watch the Queen's funeral.

"We'll do it from the comfort of our own home, hopefully reflect and educate the children. It's a big event and it's something we won't ever experience again."

They plan to have a picnic in the garden and will "raise a glass to celebrate her life", says Ms Bone.

She says she hopes Sandringham will continue to be as important a home to the King.

Wendy Humphreys says she hopes the King will keep up the Royal tradition of spending Christmas at Sandringham

It is a view shared by Wendy Humphreys, 66, who lives in Dersingham, close to the estate.

"This is what everyone's been talking about," she says.

"I hope they carry on the tradition. I'm sure William and Catherine will spend as much time here as the Queen did.

"I just hope the King keeps this special for everybody that lives here, really."

"We're up at Sandringham all the time, it's our local walk," she says.

"You just felt that you knew her [the Queen], just by her giving you a wave when she goes by in the car, it's very personal."

She says she has seen the Royals many times.

"Prince Philip actually wound his window down and said what lovely behaved dogs we had, which was very special."

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