Cold forces Queen to delay winter trip

BRITAIN: The Queen’s annual Christmas break at Sandringham is such an immovable fixture in her diary she takes the same train every year to her Norfolk retreat.

But for the first time in recent memory, she was forced to postpone her departure from London yesterday after she and the Duke of Edinburgh came down with heavy colds.

They spent the day instead recovering at Buckingham Palace, and will decide today whether they are well enough to travel.

The Queen, who is 90, hosted the annual Christmas lunch at the palace on Wednesday, when the extended royal family joined her for the traditional gettogether before her winter break.

After waking up feeling unwell however, the Queen and the duke, who had been due to catch the 10.44 train from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn, made the decision to cancel their journey.

Security staff were out in force at King’s Cross station but they were told to stand down only minutes before the train left. At King’s Lynn, officers who cordoned off an area for her car to pick her up were also told to leave.

The mystery of their non-appearance was cleared up when Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying: ‘‘The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have heavy colds, and so have decided not to travel to Sandringham today.’’

Royal sources said no decision on rescheduling the trip would be taken until today, but they are still expected to travel to Sandringham in time for Christmas.

They will be joined there by Prince Harry, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and other members of their immediate family, with the exception of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, who are spending the festive period with the Duchess’s family in Berkshire.

On Tuesday it was announced the Queen was stepping down as patron of 25 organisations throughout Britain in a move to reduce her workload.

- Telegraph Group