Lena Tindall's defiant look to grandmother Princess Anne following Christmas Day church outing caught on camera

Andrea Caamano
·3-min read
Princess Anne and Lena Tindall pictured on Christmas Day
Princess Anne and Lena Tindall pictured on Christmas Day (Instagram)

The royal family's annual outing on Christmas Day, to attend the morning service at Sandringham Church, always brings delightful scenes for royal fans.

This year, Princess Anne, her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Snowdon all showed off the incredibly thoughtful gift King Charles had given them for Christmas. And Zara Tindall proved that she and her godson, Prince William and Kate’s eldest child, Prince George, have a very good relationship – see the video below for proof.

Royal fans were also delighted by Sarah Ferguson’s attendance, her first since the early 1990s.

But one funny moment that nearly went unnoticed was a look shared between Lena Tindall, Zara and Mike’s youngest daughter, and her grandmother, Princess Anne.

Lena Tindall was photographed giving her grandmother Princess Anne a defying look following the Christmas Day morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Lena Tindall was photographed giving her grandmother Princess Anne a defiant look following the Christmas Day morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk. (Shutterstock)

As the royal family left St Mary Magdalene’s Church in Sandringham, the five-year-old was captured giving Anne, 73, a defiant look.

The moment, however, was fleeting, and the youngster was soon smiling and having fun whilst holding tight to her mother Zara’s hand.

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Lena is one of Princess Anne’s five grandchildren, and despite being the royal family’s most hard-working member, she loves spending time with her family whenever she can.

Lena departed St. Mary Magdalene Church alongside her parents, Zara and Mike Tindall
Lena departed St. Mary Magdalene Church alongside her parents, Zara and Mike Tindall (Shutterstock)

Princess Anne’s children, Zara and Peter Phillips spoke openly about her role as a grandmother back in 2020, in a documentary that celebrated her 70th birthday and titled Anne: The Princess Royal at 70.

Peter said in the documentary: "She loves seeing them ride, she loves having them round for Sunday lunches and taking them for walks. Doing all the things that we would do as kids."

"We quite like leaving them on Sundays. We'll say, 'We'll pick them up later, bye.'" Zara joked.

Sarah Ferguson standing outside church with Zara and Lena Tindall
Standing outside church with Zara Tindall and her daughter, Lena (Getty)

Not only is Princess Anne an exceptional grandmother, but Zara recently publicly thanked her for not giving her a royal title.

Speaking on Seven: Rob Burrow, The Total Sport Podcast, she said: “From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn't give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way. “

She continued: “My family has a great work ethic as well which I'm hoping they instilled in me and is still going to this day.

Zara Tindall, Lena Tindall, Jack Brooksbank (hidden), Mike Tindall, Princess Eugenie, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence attending the Christmas Day morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk
Zara and Mike were joined by their daughters, Mia and Lena (Joe Giddens - PA Images)

“Hopefully, we can pass it onto our kids. Now, my brother and my cousins love to go back and do the same things and I hope that our children have the same experiences that we did when we were growing up.

“You don't really appreciate that until you're older and you've got kids.”

LISTEN: We head to King Charles' Windsor residence to talk all things Christmas