Queen Elizabeth has decided to cancel her traditional Christmas plans at her Sandringham estate in eastern England for the second year in a row.
OnlinePikin can confirm the monarch, 95, will instead celebrate the holiday at Windsor Castle, west of London, and be joined by members of the royal family.
Buckingham Palace said the queen’s choice “reflects a precautionary approach” as the COVID-19 omicron variant continues to spread across the U,K.
Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency quoted an unnamed royal source as saying the decision “was a personal one taken after careful consideration”.
The Queen has been forced to limit her official duties after an overnight hospital stay in October that prompted medics to advise her to rest.
Last week, she cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch for the second year in succession because of the risks of the spread of the virus.
Last year, strict rules on household mixing indoors and social distancing were in place, preventing her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as cousins from the meeting.
The Queen and senior members of the royal family traditionally spend Christmas at Sandringham, in eastern England, attending church on the estate on Christmas Day.
This Christmas is the monarch’s first since the death in April of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday resisted calls from scientists to impose tougher restrictions on social mixing before the festive season this weekend.
Johnson, however, has said the government was keeping the situation “under constant review”, as the number of positive tests nudged towards a record 100,000 a day, with a growing number from the Omicron mutation.
AFP