The Queen is facing the prospect of spending the Christmas festivities away from her Sandringham Estate for the first time in over three decades.
A Sandringham source told the Daily Mail: “‘We have been told not to expect them back for Christmas.”
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are currently isolating together at Windsor Castle.
The 94-year-old and 99-year-old are joined by their HMS Bubble team at Windsor for the duration of the second national lockdown in England.
No final decision has been made over where the monarch will spend the festive period, however, remaining at Windsor Castle would receive pressure on royal staff.
If Her Majesty relocates to Sandringham, royal staff including cleaners and maintenance workers would be forced to quarantine inside the staffing bubble away from their own families.
A source told the Mail: “Nothing has been resolved as staff are still refusing to quarantine from their families.
“So it’s looking almost certain they can’t have Christmas inside the big house at Sandringham.
“It is possible, of course, to arrange a smaller one for Philip and the Queen at Wood Farm cottage.
“But moving the Queen and Duke to Windsor, where they know the bubble works, makes it simpler to start planning to stay there for Christmas.”
The Queen usually travels to Sandringham a few days before Christmas Day after holding a large festive meal for her family at Buckingham Palace.
On Christmas Day, Her Majesty and her family usually attend church service at Sandringham before heading back to the estate for Christmas Dinner.
Like most families, the royals then gather around the television at 3pm to watch The Queen deliver her annual Christmas Day broadcast.
It is unknown what this Christmas will have in store for The Royal Family, although it is likely to be anything but normal.
