The Queen arrives by train as her Christmas holidays begin

The Queen has officially clocked off for the year, starting her Christmas holiday break in Sandringham.

Her Majesty was seen disembarking a regular train at King's Lynn station, having taken the 10.42am Great Northern Service from London King’s Cross.

It is a journey she does every year on her way to the Norfolk estate.

A first-class ticket on the train costs $100 Australian dollars for the two-hour journey.

Prince Philip was notably absent – it's believed he will be making a separate journey by car.

On her arrival, Queen Elizabeth was greeted by station manager Graeme Pratt and smiled at the waiting photographers.

Earlier, a large team of security had done a sweep of the platforms, giving the all clear before the Monarch's train pulled in.

Her Majesty was then driven to the Sandringham estate, where she will remain until February.

She will be joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the coming days.

The royal Christmas celebrations officially begin on Christmas Eve, where afternoon tea is served after the arrivals. The evening brings a fancy black-tie dinner and the opening of presents—a German tradition embraced by Queen Victoria when she married Prince Albert in 1840.

After breakfast on Christmas morning, the royals will attend a service at St Mary Magdalene church where they will be greeted by hundreds of locals who wait for hours to see the family.

Afterwards, the royals return to Sandringham for lunch before watching the Queen's annual Christmas Broadcast on the television.

They'll then walk off lunch with a stroll around the estate's grounds and spend the evening playing parlour games.

Since the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, the royal family has gathered to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham, the Queen’s privately-owned Norfolk estate.

It is strictly for the Queen's closest family members - large as Sandringham might be, it is a house, not a palace. When the whole family is in residence, there simply isn’t room for anyone else.