Princess Beatrice Hurries Mom Fergie Along in a Relatable Moment at Royal Christmas

Princess Beatrice kept mum Sarah Ferguson on schedule during the royal family’s annual Christmas outing.

Keeping with tradition, King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the British royal family went to church on Christmas Day. Many of the event’s regulars were there, including Kate Middleton and Prince William with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. But surprise surprise, Fergie (as the Duchess of York is affectionately known) joined her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, and their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, for the church outing.

Although Fergie, 64, would join the royal family in the 1980s for Christmas, she has not been seen on the royal family’s Christmas walk to church since the early 1990s, as she and Prince Andrew separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. However, the former couple remained friendly, even continuing to live together at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

Fergie was spotted greeting well-wishers gathered outside after mass, collecting flowers and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. IN video split on X, is heard telling people, “I have to go, I have to go!” because she lags behind the other students. However, she then crosses the path to the other side to greet more people.

Princess Beatrice, 35, then comes into view, seemingly telling her mother they have to get going, prompting laughter from the crowd. Fergie then joins Beatrice and Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, to leave.

Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice on Christmas 2023.

Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty

See the best photos of the royal family’s 2023 Christmas trip

Fergie’s Christmas Day outing came as a surprise to royal watchers. In addition to not joining the event for decades, it is not common for divorced spouses to attend an immediate family event, and until recently, even engaged couples were not included.

After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got engaged in 2017, she joined the royal family for the first time on Christmas Day (but in 2010, Prince William wasn’t allowed to bring Princess Kate despite her own engagement).

Despite her divorce from Prince Andrew, she remained close to members of the royal family, including her former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth.

Sarah Ferguson is coming to Christmas 2023 with the royal family.

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

“She was so brilliant at putting you at ease. She had the most incredible confidence of any person I’ve ever met,” the Duchess of York told PEOPLE earlier this year of Queen Elizabeth. “She just knew what to do. She knew how to make people feel good. She never took it for granted. It’s about the monarchy, about making someone feel good. She was my total idol.”

Following the history-making monarch’s death in 2022, Fergie and Andrew adopted her two surviving corgis, Sandy and Muick.

“They are national icons, so every time they run to hunt a squirrel, I panic,” she said. “But they’re a total joy and I always think when they’re barking at nothing and there’s no squirrel in sight, I believe it’s because the Queen is passing by.”

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice on Christmas 2023.

Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty

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Prince Andrew (63) is no longer a working member of the royal family, but still attends family events such as Christmas and Easter. He stepped down from his royal role in 2019 and his mother, Queen Elizabeth, stripped him of his military titles and patronage in 2022 over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson on Christmas Day 2023.

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty

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Source: HIS Education