The annual Commonwealth Day service due to take place on Monday March 8, attended by the Queen and members of the royal family, will not go ahead due to the pandemic, Westminster Abbey has said.
To mark Commonwealth Day, the Queen will instead share her annual message in A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, which will be broadcast on Sunday March 7 on BBC One.
The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex will also take part in the programme, the Abbey said.
Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, often held on the second Monday in March.
It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth along with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London.
Commonwealth Day is a public holiday in some parts of the Commonwealth, but not presently in Britain.
