Omicron Variant Widespread In England: Queen Elizabeth II Cancels Christmas At Sandringham, Chooses Windsor Castle

Ratu Elizabeth II. (Wikimedia Commons / Terry Kearney)

JAKARTA - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II won't be traveling to Sandringham Palace for Christmas knowing this as originally planned, will instead celebrate at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace sources told CNN on Monday, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus surged in Britain.

In previous years, the Queen traveled to her country estate at Sandringham Palace, a 20.000-acre estate about 100 miles north of London, for the family's annual Christmas retreat.

But in recent weeks, the Palace has taken additional precautions because of the coronavirus, including canceling the pre-Christmas lunch Queen Elizabeth II usually holds for extended families.

The UK is known to be facing a fresh spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant.

The country has recorded more than 80.000 new daily cases since Friday. On Monday, 91.743 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, the second-highest figure since the start of the pandemic, according to government data.

One corner of Sandringham Palace, England. (Wikimedia Commons/RXUYDC)

It will be Queen Elizabeth II's first holiday season since the death of Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years. He died in April at the age of 99.

Festival celebrations were canceled last year as the country was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, with households barred from mingling to curb the transmission of the virus. At the time, the Queen remained in Windsor with Prince Philip and a small group of staff.

When the Queen canceled her pre-Christmas gathering last week, a Buckingham Palace source told CNN the decision was a precautionary measure because it felt the lunch would jeopardize too many people's Christmas arrangements if it went ahead.

Meanwhile, his annual pre-recorded Christmas Day speech is still expected to be broadcast as planned.

Please note, unlike Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, Sandringham Palace is the Queen's private home. Due to space issues, Christmas invitations are usually only given to the immediate family. But the Queen from time to time makes important exceptions, like when she welcomed the then-Meghan Markle to the estate before she married Prince Harry.