The Prince of Wales travelled to Buckingham Palace alone on
Wednesday for The Queen’s annual Christmas Lunch without his wife,
the Duchess of Cornwall, by his side.
According to a Clarence House spokesperson, the Duchess was
suffering from a “heavy cold” and therefore could not attend the
festivities at Buckingham Palace.
Her Royal Highness was also forced to cancel an engagement at
the Olympia Horse Show later that evening.
Camilla’s last engagement was on Friday when she paid a visit to
an airbase near Chippenham to officially open it in her role as
patron of Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
The Queen hosted her traditional pre-Christmas dinner at
Buckingham Palace on Wednesday for members of The Royal Family.
Senior royals and extended members of Her Majesty’s family are
invited to Her Majesty’s Christmas dinner each year at Buckingham
Palace – a rare occasion where everybody gets together.
The dinner, which has now become an annual occurrence, is held
for those members of the Royal Family who do not often get invited
to Sandringham on Christmas Day.
Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh are expected to set off to
Sandringham within the next couple of days to start their Christmas
break.
Sandringham has been privately owned by the royal family since
1862 after it was purchased by Queen Victoria at the request of her
son and future King, Prince Edward.
It has remained close to the royal family since, and it is from
here where the Queen’s Christmas speech is broadcast. The topic and
issues raised in this year’s speech are not yet known
