Queen attends Christmas Day service

The Queen is due to attend the traditional Christmas Day service at Sandringham.

She will be greeted by thousands of well wishers outside St Mary Magdalene church.

The Queen was forced to miss church on the Sunday before Christmas as she shook off the tail end of a cold.

After today's service, she is expected to receive flowers from local children.

In her Christmas Day address, the Queen will pay tribute to the enormous sporting achievements of 2012.

"As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes," she says.

"In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama."

Christmas will be quieter than usual for the Queen with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spending Christmas with the Duchess's parents, and Prince Harry serving in Afghanistan.