The queen has cancelled her traditional Christmas at her country house, Sandringham, for the first time in 37 years because of COVID-19. She will instead spend a “quiet” festive period with her husband, Prince Philip, at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace has announced. The couple made the decision after considering “all the appropriate advice,” a spokesman said, adding that they feel “fortunate” to usually spend Christmas with their family but are content to spend it alone this year, understanding that their relatives will have “competing demands” over the festive period. “Like everyone they hope things will get back to normal in 2021,” an official told the Daily Telegraph. British rules mean the monarch, 94, and Philip, 99, would have been limited to spending the festive period with a maximum of two other households.