Queen postpones all 'large-scale' events at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for rest of the year
All large scale events have been postponed at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for the rest of the year.
Buckingham Palace confirmed there will not be any events like investitures for the rest of 2020 on Thursday afternoon, calling it a “sensible precaution”.
A statement on the palace website said: “In line with current Government guidelines, and as a sensible precaution in the current circumstances, there will be no large-scale events held at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle for the rest of the year.
“A variety of possibilities were examined to see if it was possible for investitures to safely take place in line with the guidelines.
“Sadly, due to the large numbers of guests and recipients attending, it was not possible to find a way of safely delivering these events in the current circumstances. Recipients will be contacted directly.
“The Queen’s intention remains to return to Windsor Castle in October and to resume the use of Buckingham Palace during an autumn programme of audiences and engagements, in line with all relevant guidance and advice.”
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The Queen moved to Windsor Castle in March, a week earlier than she would usually go to the Berkshire home for Easter Court, and remained there while lockdown restrictions were in place across the UK.
She and her husband Prince Philip were able to take a shorter holiday in Balmoral, their Scottish home, during the summer, and have been in Sandringham for a number of weeks.
Philip, 99, will stay in Sandringham, where he has lived since retiring in 2017, while the Queen is understood to be coming back to the south of England in the coming weeks.
She will live in Windsor Castle, where she usually spends her weekends, instead of Buckingham Palace.
However she will travel to London for some engagements.
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The Queen, 94, gave several messages through the lockdown period, including one marking the anniversary of VE Day, and another for Easter.
And she joined her family in making virtual visits, carrying out engagements over zoom.
She carried out a special investiture ceremony in July for Captain Sir Tom Moore, who became a national treasure when he walked lengths of his garden to raise money for NHS Charities together. The ceremony was carried out in Windsor Castle and involved few people to ensure it met guidelines.
She was also able to watch a scaled down version of Trooping the Colour from the Windsor Quadrangle to mark her official birthday.
Read more: Prince Charles wears face covering in public for first time as he and Camilla visit Northern Ireland
Her children and grandchildren have returned to making in-person engagements in recent weeks, with Charles and Camilla flying over to Northern Ireland on Wednesday for a whistle-stop day of visits.
It was the first time Charles, 71, was seen with a face covering on.
Prince William and Kate have also been carrying out engagements, as have Princess Anne and Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex.
The Queen will continue with much of her daily work even though she cannot carry out as many engagements because of her age.
She receives her red box from the government everyday and continues to maintain links with commonwealth nations.
In September she said she was “delighted” at the news that her granddaughter Eugenie is pregnant with her first child. The baby, due early 2021, will be the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild.