Queen Elizabeth Canceled Christmas Celebration Yet Again Amid Omicron Concerns

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is canceling Christmas. At least, her celebration won’t be the same as it usually is.

The queen looks forward to a very specific set of customs each year at her Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. This includes attending services at St. Mary Magdalene Church, which dates back to the 16th century. The royal family always gathers for a turkey dinner in the festive, decorated home, and they play pick-up games of football and charades. Former royal chef Darren McGrady told Good Housekeeping that the queen allows her great-grandchildren to help her decorate the tree, which she leaves up until February. The whole family gets dressed up to attend a black tie dinner together on Christmas Eve.

One of the most surprising traditions in the royal family is their unusual gift exchange. Each year, the royals exchange gag gifts with one another in honor of the holiday. Royal biographer Brian Hoey reported that Prince Harry gifted his grandmother with a shower cap that read, “Ain’t Life a B****?” in 2013, according to Express.

However, there won’t be any gag gifts or Christmas turkey this year, at least not in the traditional way that’s endured for centuries. BBC just reported that Queen Elizabeth decided to cancel her trip to Sandringham again in 2021 as Omicron cases surge in the U.K. The royal family also skipped their traditional Christmas meet-up in 2020 for pandemic-related reasons.  – READ MORE