Why there aren't photos of the royal family on their Boxing Day shoot

The Royal Family has a long tradition of taking part in blood sports, with many members joining in on the annual Boxing Day pheasant shoot on the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

Their enthusiasm for the country pursuit remains a subject of controversy, particularly because they also support a number of conservation charities, such as Tusk.

“This is a big conundrum for them and the shooting is a bit of an Achilles heel with the Royal Family because they do go shooting and it is for recreation, but at the same time, they support conservation charities and are very outspoken about that,” royal correspondent Victoria Murphy tells Yahoo UK‘s The Royal Box.

She adds: “They would say that actually they are very different things because they are talking about endangered wildlife when they’re talking about the charities they’re supporting.”

Murphy points out that we rarely see photos of the royals out on their Boxing Day shoot now.

Royal biographer Duncan Larcombe recalls one photograph of the Queen during a shoot in 2000, which made headlines across the world.

“There were famous pictures taken about 12 years ago of the Queen wringing a pheasant’s neck that had been shot and she killed it.

“And ever since then, the photographers have been… I mean, they use long lenses anyway, but they’d need telescopes now because it’s so far back because it’s not good PR, it doesn’t look good.”

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Former royal butler Grant Harrold, who used to work on a Scottish estate, explained that shooting is a way of land management for some, but added “it’s a very tricky subject.”

The Queen privately owns Sandringham House and uses it as a retreat away from London life.

Its vast surrounding estate includes 16,000 acres of farmland, 3,500 acres of woodland and 150 properties.

In 2009, it was widely reported that the Queen warned newspapers against publishing paparazzi or long-lens photos of members of the royal family.

According to The Sunday Mirror, Prince Harry will miss out on this year’s hunt, out of respect for his animal-loving wife Meghan’s principles. However, a Kensington Palace source has dismissed the claims, reportedly telling The Telegraph: “This is completely untrue.”