How a chance moment with the royals inadvertently made this single mum $72,000 in a year.

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It was a chance encounter on Christmas Day that made UK single mum, Karen Anvil, $72,000 in a year.

She snapped a photo of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William and Duchess Catherine attending the royal Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, and even managed to get Prince Harry and Duchess Catherine smiling straight into the camera.

Sharing her photo on Twitter, the 40-year-old immediately began getting interest from publications and on the advice of a professional photographer, she sold the photo through his agency. Although it was originally taken with her phone, Karen’s photo of the royals was sold to over 50 countries and used by several international media outlets.

Nearly a year on, her photo has continued to pay her monthly dividends, with that figured estimated by The Sun to be around AU$72,000 (about £40,000) – not bad for someone with absolutely no photography experience.

 

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My Entry. #thepipas2018 #lifechanging

A post shared by Karen Anvil (@karenanvil) on Aug 10, 2018 at 2:49am PDT

Speaking to the BBC, Karen said her earnings range anywhere from $1077 to $10,777, a month, and she’s used that money to renovate her council home, take a year off from work, pay her debts and take her daughter to Paris to celebrate her 18th birthday.

“The biggest change for me was that it was so nice to go shopping at Tesco and not be worried about whether I’ve got the cash in the bank,” she said.

Karen also said she was able to purchase a bed frame after 18 months of just sleeping on a mattress.

“I couldn’t afford to replace my bed frame which had broke,” she said.

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A post shared by Rachel Drew ???? (@rachelanvilxx) on Dec 23, 2018 at 11:00am PST

Although she’s due to return to her previous job at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn in February 2019, she’s called her photo “life changing” in an Instagram caption.

Speaking to the Telegraph in December 2017, she said she got the royal’s attention by shouting out “Merry Christmas,” causing Prince Harry and Catherine to look at her and smile.

“I just think that we were all at the same angle and it was just luck,” she said.

“We were all giddy and laughing and enjoying the experience, we weren’t actually thinking about getting the best photo.”

This year, with the royals confirmed to attend Sandringham, Karen plans on waiting outside the church again, reports the BBC.

And with a little bit more experience under her belt, who knows what could happen.

What actually happens at a royal Christmas? Let us give you a rundown of the proceedings.

What do you think of Karen’s photography skills? Tell us in a comment below.