Buckingham Palace has announced that The Queen will miss today’s Christmas Day church service at St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day due to illness.
This is the first time in living memory that Her Majesty hasn’t attended the traditional Christmas Day service and is unprecedented.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Her Majesty The Queen will not attend Church at Sandringham this morning. The Queen continues to suffer from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with recovery.
Her Majesty will participate in Royal Family Christmas celebrations during the day.”
As Royal Central previously reported, there have been concerns that The Queen wouldn’t be able to attend the traditional Church service at Sandringham for a few days.
Also absent from proceedings this year will be The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, alongside their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The Cambridge family have instead opted to spent Christmas in Berkshire this year with the Middleton family.
The church service is the only public appearance the Royal Family make on December 25th. Afterwards, she hosts Christmas dinner for senior members of the family, before settling down to watch The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast at 3pm.
Her Majesty has attended St Mary Magdalene Church every Christmas morning since 1988. Prior to this, she attended Church at Windsor.
Other members of The Royal Family are expected to attend the service as usual.
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