The queen decided to celebrate the royal Christmas at the Sandringham this holiday and people are expecting to see her again in public.
Queen Elizabeth II is set to have family around for the Christmas gathering and host their pre-festive season party this coming holiday. It appears the Covid pandemic will not force the Queen to cancel her usual family gathering for the second year in a row.
The monarch and husband Prince Philip spent last Christmas alone as they shielded at Windsor Castle and it turned out to be their final festive season together, as the duke died aged 99 in April.
According to the Daily Mail, the Queen’s doctor gave her the go-ahead signal to throw her private party this coming season. While there is no definite date yet, palace aides are exploring options to have the monarch greet the public over the next two weeks to extend her holiday greetings to each and every one.
She usually hosts it at Buckingham Palace but this time it will be at Windsor Castle in Sandringham. Her favorite place to celebrate the Christmas holiday with the royals, she is also preparing to film her Christmas Day message to the nation this coming holiday.
The Monarch will also move her court to her Sandringham Estate in Norfolk for Christmas, where her closest will gather in time for Christmas Eve. Extended family members will all be given an invite to the party, which hasn’t been held since 2019.
It is reported that the Queen is set to fly to East Anglia by helicopter, rather than take the train like her usual Christmas traditions, due to her age and the queen’s health condition.
In November, the Queen pulled out of a Remembrance Sunday event after spraining her back. Her Majesty was supposed to make her first official appearance, after resting for a month under doctor’s orders, to lead the nation in commemorating our brave soldiers.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on her behalf at the time expressing her “disappointment” for not being able to attend the event to commemorate all the men and women who served in the First World War.
The hope is that the monarch will be well enough to join a short public engagement in the castle grounds. Seeing her in public again would reportedly be a “small shot of joy” amid this difficult year but will be enough for the public to know that she is feeling a lot better than these past weeks.
Speaking about her return to Sandringham this year, a royal source said: “It won’t be a normal Christmas, but like many families around the country, it will be as normal as it can get”.
The royals usually start their festive celebrations on Christmas Eve, owing to their German heritage. Old and young members of the firm will all meet at the White Drawing Room to exchange gifts and add the very last decorations to the massive 20-foot Christmas tree.
Due to the tension and competitive rage caused amongst family members, playing monopoly was said to be officially banned at the gatherings by Her Majesty’s rule this coming Christmas Holiday.