The royal family's Christmas service in Sandringham is at risk because of striking choristers. Photo / Getty Images
The royal family's Christmas service in Sandringham is at risk because of striking choristers. Photo / Getty Images
The royal family’s Christmas service in Sandringham, Britain, has been thrown into jeopardy by striking choristers.
Several members of the choir at St Mary Magdalene in Norfolk have reportedly boycotted rehearsals after the departure of Dr Claire Stewart, the church’s director of music.
The walkout threatens to disrupt the church’sChristmas Day service, which the royal family traditionally attends.
Stewart, a stalwart of the church for 13 years, is understood to have left her post after a period of stress-induced sick leave amid a feud over the creative direction for the choir proposed by the church’s vicar.
Reverend Paul Williams, the domestic chaplain to King Charles and who was made rector of Sandringham in 2022, has advocated modernising the choir and instilling higher standards.
He commissioned Tansy Castledine, then the director of music at Peterborough Cathedral, to conduct an 18-month review of the church’s 25-strong volunteer choir.
In a 16-page report handed over earlier this year, Castledine is said to have concluded that members had “no knowledge of music or singing technique” and should “aspire to higher standards”.
Reverend Paul Williams (right) aims to modernise the choir at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, leading to tensions and dwindling rehearsal attendance. Photo / Getty Images
It said there was “a wish for the choir to achieve higher standards of outcome … given the unique opportunity to sing for royalty might provide an obvious draw to the choir and subsequent ambition for standards of excellence”.
The report said the choir’s limited repertoire was surprising and disappointing, adding that social media may help to improve reputation and recruitment.
Stewart is said to have delivered a counter-punching 28-page dossier before taking a leave of absence and eventually quitting her role.
The number of choristers at rehearsals is said to have been dwindling since, though the Diocese of Norwich told the Telegraph that “several members of the choir have continued to sing together”.
In a letter addressed to the choristers and seen by LBC, Williams is said to have delivered an ultimatum to parents and guardians to decide by the end of Friday whether to keep their child in the choir.
He brought in Castledine to temporarily stand in for Stewart in January, according to the Eastern Daily Press.
Two choir girls are said to have walked out of rehearsals earlier this year after taking issue with the stand-in choirmaster’s instructions to go up and down the nave waving “jazz hands”.
A parent told the newspaper that Stewart had moulded a convivial and close-knit atmosphere.
“Dr Stewart has been an amazing teacher and choir mistress who has supported the children through the years immensely, helping to shape them into the incredible young ladies they now are,” she said.
The King, who owns the nearby 8ha estate in Norfolk, has reportedly been made aware of the dispute. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich, is said to have been inundated with letters from concerned parishioners.
A spokesman for the diocese said: “Several members of the choir have continued to sing together throughout this time, including at sung services across the churches in the Sandringham group.
“There is a full schedule of services planned at Sandringham to celebrate the joy of Christmas so that parishioners, including the choir, can come together to sing of the wonder of the gift of Jesus to the world.”
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