Britain's Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas services because of 'heavy cold'

The British royal family went to church without Queen Elizabeth
(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

For the first time since at least 1988, Queen Elizabeth II did not attend Christmas Day church services in Sandringham, near the royal family's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Buckingham Palace explained that the 90-year-old monarch "continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery," though she plans to "participate in the royal family Christmas celebrations during the day." The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, had to travel to Sandringham by helicopter after they were both too ill last week to travel by train, as planned. Prince Philip, 95, attended the Christmas Day service along with other members of the royal family. If you're interested, you can watch them leave the service in the video below. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.