Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will celebrate Christmas at Windsor instead of her usual choice of Sandringham, a palace source said on Monday, as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread rapidly.
Rather than travel to Sandringham as usual, Queen Elizabeth will remain at Windsor where she spent last Christmas with her husband Philip – who died in April.
A source said Queen Elizabeth will be visited by members of her family over the Christmas period after taking the “personal” decision to stay at the residence as she did last year.
The queen normally hosts her large family at Sandringham in Norfolk, England, over the holidays, and they are watched by crowds as they attend church on December 25th.
But as coronavirus cases increase rapidly across Britain amid the rise of the Omicron variant, the queen plans to remain at Windsor Castle and will not be attending a public church service on Christmas Day.
The source added sensible precautions will be taken by those visiting.
It has not yet been confirmed where Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Kate will be spending Christmas.
This also comes after the queen cancelled the traditional pre-Christmas lunch with her extended family, which had been scheduled for Tuesday.
The 95-year-old has spent much of this year at Windsor Castle, where she and Philip remained after Christmas while shielding throughout the lockdowns.
Philip, her husband of 74 years, died on April 9th, and his funeral was held during coronavirus restrictions within the confines of the castle.
In October this year, Queen Elizabeth was admitted to hospital overnight for preliminary investigations and ordered by her royal doctors to rest.
The queen also sprained her back and was advised to pull out of attending several events, including the Remembrance Sunday service.
