The 95-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth has missed many engagements in recent weeks after being hospitalized for an undisclosed sickness and then suffering a back sprain, but medics have now approved her plans to stage her annual private bash for extended family members.
She has been told by her doctors to host her annual Christmas party with her family. This year the party will take place at Windsor Castle, where the queen has spent most of the pandemic, instead of Buckingham Palace, where it has been staged for several decades.
The monarch will still travel to Sandringham for Christmas with her immediate family but is expected to travel by helicopter to Norfolk, rather than making her traditional train journey.
Before she makes the trip, the queen will record her annual Christmas message at Windsor, which is expected to reflect on the death of her husband, Prince Philip, in April, as well as the “heartening” community strength exhibited during the pandemic.
And royal aides are currently said to be exploring options for the queen to make a public appearance over the next two weeks, having undertaken most of her recent engagements virtually or within Windsor Castle, in order to offer the nation a “small shot of joy”.
A 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.”
It was recently revealed the queen has reassured her family she is “very much looking forward” to their annual Christmas celebrations