Queen Elizabethwill not make her traditional trip to Sandringham for Christmas as the U.K. experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Although there are not currently government restrictions on gatherings for the holiday, the 95-year-old monarch will instead stay at Windsor Castle, where she has spent the majority of the pandemic.
Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth.Jack Hill/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Staff at Windsor Castle are tested regularly for COVID-19. An insider recently told PEOPLE that staffers within the “bubble” keeping the Queen from COVID find it to be “a cheerful place.”
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“Those who are in it cherish their place,” the source adds. “They are a support for the Queen and someone that they can have a laugh with and she can talk about the issues of the day.”
Throughout the pandemic, Queen Elizabeth has set an example for her country. In addition to canceling last year’s Christmas at Sandringham, the Queen andPrince Philip(who died in April at age 99)received the vaccineand she woreface masksduring outings.
“While we have faced challenges before, this one is different,” the monarch said. “This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us.”
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As the broadcast came to a close, the Queen reiterated that the tough times will not last forever.
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again,” she said. “But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.”
source: people.com
