In the midst of the proliferation of the new coronavirus variant called Omikron, Queen Elizabeth II decided to cancel her traditional Christmas family lunch. It is the second year in a row that the special royal family gathering is being cancelled for epidemiological reasons.
The traditional pre-holiday lunch usually takes place at Buckingham Palace. However this year, it was set to be held at Windsor Castle where the queen has been staying throughout the pandemic.
Dozens of guests usually attend this seasonal meeting, including Kate Middleton, Prince William, their three children, and many of the Queen’s other children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.
This year’s Christmas will probably have a melancholic note for Queen Elizabeth as her husband Prince Philip passed away last April at the age of 99. According to British media, the queen feels bitter that such a decision had to be made.
Queen Elizabeth II is the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, she has missed a number of high profile engagements since being advised to rest including the COP26 climate conference which took place in November in Glasgow.
In the last few days, the British government has recommended that people maintain their pre-holiday gatherings to a strict minimum. This advice is given in the midst of yet another deterioration of the coronavirus situation in the UK and in the rest of Europe.
According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading at a very high rate. British officials affirm that the country is facing a „tidal wave” of infections from Omicron. The strain has become dominant in London, where the Delta variant is also to be found for several months.
Last Monday, the UK reported its first death from the variant, and two days later it reported 78.610 new cases of the coronavirus. It is the highest number of daily cases since the pandemic started. The previous record of daily new infections was 68,053 on the 8th of January.
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
Photo: Twitter @TheRoyalFamily
