The royal family's annual Christmas reunion in Sandringham isn't taking place this year as Buckingham Palace officially confirms Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are staying put in their bubble at Windsor Castle for the holidays.
In a public statement, a Palace spokesperson said that Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh decided to cancel their usual Christmas plans after listening to "all appropriate advice." However, they may welcome the royal family members for a short time in their protected environment to exchange gifts. Still, there will be no parties and gatherings with the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all in one room.
Since she will not be in Sandringham, the Queen also scrapped her visit to the nearby church on Christmas morning, where hundreds of locals wait to see and shake hands with the royal family. The festive Christmas day lunch after the service is also off, but the Queen's yearly speech will still be aired in the middle of the afternoon on television.
The heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are bucking Christmas traditions this year as well and will welcome the holiday together at their Gloucestershire home, the Highgrove House. At some point during the Christmas break, however, Prince Charles and Camilla are expected to visit the Queen and Camilla's children and grandchildren amid social distancing protocols.
The second in line to the throne, Prince William, and his wife Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, are likely not going to risk visiting the Queen and Prince Philip for the holiday. Their children, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte, have been attending in-person classes and could be asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus.
The Cambridges will likely spend their Christmas at their Norfolk home. However, some royal observers said that Kate and William might also spend the holiday with the Middletons. The last time the couple spent an actual Christmas day with Kate's parents, Carole and Michael, was when Prince George was still a baby.
This is the first time the Queen changes her Christmas plans after 32 years. According to Insider, the royal family used to alternate holiday celebrations between Sandringham and Windsor Castle.
Despite the sad news, Queen Elizabeth was seen around the Windsor grounds looking fit and healthy on Tuesday, as she went horseback-riding with her aide. The United Kingdom's second lockdown will be over this week, but the government imposed a scaled-down Christmas holiday celebration for families with a maximum of three households only.
