QUEEN’S XMAS MESSAGE... BE COVID CAREFUL
Church tradition axed
ROYAL fans are set to miss out on the traditional Christmas Day meet-andgreet with the Queen over Covid fears.
Hundreds normally gather to see the monarch and her family as they walk to and from their church service at Sandringham.
But as Omicron cases soar, she will be advised to set an example by shutting the gates to her private grounds.
Sources say the Norfolk estate may remain open but access to the famous footpath will be blocked to reduce public contact, in line with official advice.
Staff there said they “fully expected” access to be denied on Christmas Day “to keep the Queen, her family, and most importantly the public, safe”.
A source said: “Everyone would love everything to be back to normal but the situation is anything but at the moment.”
For years royal fans, some queuing from 2am and others travelling from overseas, have joined the December 25 tradition outside Sandringham’s St Mary Magdalene Church.
But it could be the second year running that it is scrapped because of Covid.
Last night Buckingham Palace insisted the royal Christmas plans, including where the Queen will be, were still under discussion.
The monarch is due to be flown by helicopter from Windsor Castle to Sandringham on
Everyone would love it back to normal, but it’s
anything but
Wednesday. When travelling to Sandringham the Queen traditionally takes the train, but will fly this time due to recent ill health.
Palace officials are hoping to allow socially distanced access to a small press pack so they can photograph the family walking to the church.
But an alternative being considered is for the royals to have Christmas at Windsor Castle, where she has spent most of the pandemic.
A secure Covid bubble is already in place with dozens of staff who have spent the crisis safeguarding the Queen, and the Duke of Edinburgh before his ddeath age 99 in April. The Queen spent last Christmas apart from her loved ones as huge parts of the country were in lockdown.
This year the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of York, Princess Anne and the Earl and Countess of Wessex have agreed to limit social contacts so the Queen is not alone, wherever she is for the festivities.
This included cancelling a family party for 50 people this Tuesday at Windsor.
The Daily Mirror revealed she secretly travelled by chopper on November 4 to visit staff at Sandringham to make festive plans.
■ ITV documentary Philip: Prince, Husband, Father, on Tuesday at 9pm, will show the moment the Duke of Edinburgh was revealed as the future Queen Elizabeth’s fiance in colour – after the film was pigmented.