Queen flies to Sandringham after Christmas Covid delay

The Queen spent Christmas in Windsor with a small group, including the Prince of Wales

The Queen travelled to Sandringham on Sunday, a month after cancelling her traditional Christmas plans in Norfolk due to the rapid spread of Omicron.

Her Majesty flew by helicopter from Windsor Castle to Sandringham, where she is expected to spend a few weeks.

Prior to the pandemic, the Queen had spent 32 consecutives Christmases at her Norfolk home with family members.

But she took the decision earlier last month to remain at Windsor as a precaution, amid rising Covid cases.

It marked the second year in a row the pandemic had led to the cancellation of the Queen's traditional Christmas plans at Sandringham.

It was also the 95-year-old monarch's first Christmas without the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband of more than 73 years, whom she paid tribute to in the annual Queen's Speech on Christmas Day.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were among a small party who joined the Queen on 25 December at Windsor Castle.

The Queen typically spends Christmas at her estate in Sandringham

Typically, close members of the Royal Family gather at the Queen's Norfolk estate for the festive period where they attend the local church of St Mary Magdalene on Christmas morning - and are greeted by public well-wishers.

In a statement issued in December, Buckingham Palace said it was a personal decision not to travel to Norfolk at Christmas and reflected "a precautionary approach".

The monarch, who will mark 70 years on the throne in February, spent much of last year at Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Philip had shielded throughout the lockdowns.

Having arrived in Norfolk on Sunday, she is expected to remain at Sandringham for some weeks.

Normally her winter break ends some time after accession day on 6 February - the day her father George VI died in 1952.

This year, 6 February will herald the start of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, which will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from 2 to 5 June.

The celebrations will be marked by concerts, street parties and a Platinum Jubilee Pageant, with the private estates of Sandringham and Balmoral open to visitors across the long weekend in June.

A more reflective moment

The Queen's move to Sandringham in Norfolk comes ahead of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of her reign - her "accession" to the throne.

Sandringham was where her father George VI died at the age of 56, on 6 February 1952. So it's a poignant time and place, remembering her father and his long influence on her life.

It's also a relatively rare trip away from Windsor, with a mixture of the Queen's health worries and Covid disruptions keeping her there much of the time.

While the Queen's long reign will be marked through the year by Platinum Jubilee events, this anniversary is likely to be a more reflective moment.

The first anniversary of the death of Prince Philip is also approaching in the spring.

If the jubilee will be about public celebrations, this will be a more private moment, marking the virtues of lifelong duty and understated service, and to think about how much has changed in those seven decades.

It is not clear which events the Queen will attend herself. There were concerns for the Queen's health during autumn last year after she spent a night in hospital and was ordered to rest by royal doctors.

It led the monarch to withdraw from a series of public events, including the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and the Remembrance Sunday service.