Things are far from back to normal for the royal family as Queen Elizabeth decided to cancel all of Buckingham Palace's garden parties for 2021 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The Palace confirmed Wednesday that the Queen would not host the annual celebrations for the second year in a row, including the summer parties that give ordinary British citizens the chance to mingle with the royals.
According to People, Buckingham Palace has had garden parties since the 1860s, where members of the royal family recognize the people who have contributed to the community. In recent times, some 30,000 individuals usually grace the garden parties wearing their best outfits and fascinators. In 2019, the Palace said that they served around 27,000 teas and cakes to the guests.
USA Today reported that garden parties at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will also not take place as Scotland's coronavirus cases surge.
Last year, Buckingham Palace was optimistic about resuming the garden parties for 2021 and said in the statement that those who were invited could still come to the party this year.
The cancellation comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson placed the United Kingdom on its third nationwide lockdown. The new orders have effectively shut down all primary and secondary schools for a second time. This means that royal children like Prince George and Princess Charlotte will have to shift to homeschooling for the next five weeks.
Since the pandemic struck, Queen Elizabeth hasn't been home in Buckingham Palace because London's COVID-19 cases are alarming. Her Majesty has been safely in isolation at Windsor Castle with her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip.
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace has remained mum over Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's vaccination against COVID-19. The U.K. rolled out their inoculation program in early December. Still, the government said the royal family would not be bumped up the list of priorities since it's the frontline workers, residents in homecare facilities, and their carers who are the first in line.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh fall under the over 80 years old, the second priority in the vaccination program. The Palace said making their vaccination public is a personal choice, but the Queen has been urged to reveal if she got the jab to render credibility to the safety of the process.
Prince Charles said that he would announce if he has been vaccinated, but he believes his further down the line of priority and will wait for the Oxford-developed vaccine from AstraZeneca. Queen Elizabeth's heir said that he has COVID-19 antibodies since he was infected with the virus in March 2020.
