Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen, 94, will not be handing out Christmas presents to her staff in person this year. She remains in isolation during the holidays and thus breaks with years of Christmas traditions. That has everything to do with the current corona crisis.
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The British Queen Elizabeth II normally gives personal gifts to a small selection of her staff during the Christmas period before leaving for Sandringham until February as a special thank you for their loyal service. She does this traditionally at the Christmas trees in Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Her favorite Christmas presents to give: Christmas pudding, silver engraved picture frames, jewelry boxes and champagne glasses.
But this year the party is canceled: the Queen and Prince Philip – compared to previous years – are heading for a very quiet Christmas period at Windsor Castle, where they have been securing themselves since October. It is the first time in 33 years that they will not move to Sandringham after the festive season. The selected personnel will indeed receive a gift, excluding the moment with Her Majesty. A representative of a department or the post will deliver it.
The gift moment is not the only celebration that is canceled. The annual lunch that the queen holds for her own family on the Wednesday before Christmas will also not take place. It has been since 1949 since the couple celebrated Christmas without one of their children. “It’s a shame, but it’s inevitable and it’s the right thing to do,” said a source.
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