The Queen will celebrate Christmas at Windsor after cancelling plans to travel to Sandringham over covid safety concerns.
The monarch usually spends the festive holiday at her estate in Norfolk, but her plans have been thrown into disarray by the unfolding Omicron strain, according to the Mirror.
Royal sources told the newspaper "the decision was a personal one after careful consideration and reflects a precautionary approach."
It will be the Queen's first Christmas without her husband of 73 years Philip by her side.
Her decision to stay in Windsor comes as the Omicron covid variant sweeps across the UK, with experts warning of up to 6,000 deaths a day if the Government fails to act.
It has been a tradition for the Queen to spend Christmas with her family at Sandringham for many years.
However, she has already been forced to cancel a pre-Christmas lunch with her extended family members as a "precautionary measure".
A senior palace source said: “The pre-Christmas family lunch will not be going ahead.
“The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.
“While there is regret that it is cancelled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all concerned.”
The Government's coronavirus interactive map shows that 45 cases have been recorded over seven days around the Sandringham estate.
Over 90,000 people have tested positive for the condition across the UK in the latest 24 hour period, according to UK government figures.
