Queen Elizabeth II prepares herself to break a royal tradition to ensure everyone’s safety amid the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.
As if the pandemic is not enough yet that Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family will face another headache this year.
Earlier this year, Her Majesty and Prince Philip isolated themselves and only recently came out in public. Since the status of the crisis has not improved yet, they fear that some royal will not be able to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham.
No Christmas with Queen Elizabeth II
For the past 37 years, the royals always follow a routine during the holiday season. Compared to the previous years, the royal family seemingly started bracing themselves to break it this year.
Per Majesty Magazine’s managing editor, Joe Little, it is highly likely that Her Majesty will not hold a celebration at Sandringham.
A report by The Daily Telegraph supported his sentiments. However, aides and courtiers still look into the possibility that they might try to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham as usual.
If this is doable, the Queen and Prince Philip would not still be able to gather all of their relatives under one roof.
Even the famous walkabout at St. Mary’s Magdalene Church will be affected to avoid gatherings.
What Christmas usually looks like
Watch: The Queen's Christmas Broadcast 2019. #QueensSpeech #QueensChristmasBroadcast #HappyChristmas pic.twitter.com/Q16XjeoFZJ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 25, 2019
Christmastime starts early as Queen Elizabeth II always holds a lunch at Buckingham Palace starting mid-December.
Once she finishes doing her duties, she travels to King’s Lynn station via train.
Meanwhile, the family opens presents and joins a black-tie dinner every Christmas Eve.
Queen then wakes up early on Dec. 25 to attend the first service of the day before joining the family for the 11 a.m. service.
Their return to Sandringham remains unknown as the extension of lockdown protocols will be announced on Dec. 2.
Although they may miss their royal tradition, their stay in Windsor allows them a chance to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
On Nov. 22, the royal couple will mark their 73rd wedding anniversary.
“I just think it’s very nice if they are together in the same residence and same part of the world,” Penny Junor said. “It’s company for one another. They’re a marvelous old couple.”
Last year, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrated their 72nd anniversary apart. At that time, Queen Elizabeth II worked in London while the Duke of Edinburgh resided in Norfolk.
Featured image courtesy of PolizeiBerlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons