Queen Cancels Pre-Christmas Family Lunch for Second Year in a Row

The Queen has cancelled her pre-Christmas party, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, due to fears over the rise in Omicron.

This is the second year in a row that the Queen has had to cancel the traditional family lunch, and royal experts have said that she will be devastated.

The monarch was due to welcome around 50 relatives to Windsor Castle, including all of her UK-based children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

However, she decided to call off the event in the interest of safety.

Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press secretary, explained that the luncheon is very important to the Queen because it is the one time of year when the entire extended family gets together.

He also noted that having cancelled this lunch, he would be very surprised if she decamped and took her family to Sandringham.

Windsor has been a secure bubble since the start of the pandemic, and the Queen leads by example and expects the rest of the family to follow suit.

In this very infectious time, it is better to stay safe than sorry.

Royal commentator Angela Levine, author of Harry, Conversation with the Prince, expressed her sympathy, saying that this will come as a huge blow after having to abandon the party in similar circumstances last year.

She wrote on Twitter that she hopes the Queen stays well and has a small loyal bubble alongside her during Christmas itself.

Many royal fans agreed, with one commenter stating that she and her family are once again showing how to lead by example.

Although whole family gatherings have been cancelled, the Queen will not spend Christmas alone after senior royals agreed to reduce all but essential contacts beforehand.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Catherine, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have cancelled any pre-Christmas plans to ensure they can be with her.

The Queen is due to travel by helicopter to Sandringham in Norfolk on Wednesday, where she is set to spend the Christmas period.

She usually stays at Sandringham until February 6th, on the anniversary of her father's death.

The Mirror's royal sources said that while there remains obvious uncertainty as to how Christmas will look exactly, the royals were committed to doing all they can to be by the Queen's side.

One alternative being examined is for the royal family to spend Christmas at her Windsor Castle home, where she has spent most of the pandemic.

A secure Covid bubble is in place with dozens of staff who have spent the crisis safeguarding the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh before his death at the age of 99 in April.

Family members invited will be expected to take Covid tests on the days before and on Christmas Day.

The source said that in terms of plans for Christmas, everything is up in the air.

Senior members of the family have spoken with each other and cut back on all but essential contacts in public, so they are ready to travel to be with the Queen wherever Christmas can take place.

As she has acted throughout the pandemic, the Queen will do what she feels is right in the current circumstances, which are ever-changing.

Another insider said it is pretty unlikely royal watchers will be invited to gather at Sandringham or Windsor on Christmas Day due to the increased public health risk.

But the family could gather even with a reduced guest list.

The Cambridges will stay at their Anmol Hall home in Norfolk before Christmas Day, while Charles and Camilla have cleared their diary of public engagements.

They will instead privately thank staff next week before they break for the holidays.

In her Christmas broadcast to the nation, which was recorded this week, the Queen is expected to herald the indomitable spirit of the British people while heaping praise on frontline health workers.

As the pandemic started in 2020, the Queen made only her fifth national broadcast outside of Christmas to evoke wartime memories and reassure those feeling a painful sense of separation from their loved ones to take comfort in the fact we will meet again.

A source said that the Queen believes we're very much all in this together and we should all abide by the public health guidelines to keep each other safe.

Despite the Queen's festive party being within government guidelines, it was Her Majesty's view that it would have been against the spirit of the current situation.

A senior palace source said today that the pre-Christmas family lunch will not be going ahead.

The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people's Christmas arrangements at risk.

While there is regret, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all concerned.