The Queen won't return to Buckingham Palace this year, according to a new report from the Sunday Times. The monarch is currently enjoying her summer break at Balmoral as she does every August and would typically return to Buckingham Palace in the autumn.
However, she is now expected to go back to Windsor Castle at the end of the summer instead. The Queen and Prince Philip left London for Windsor back in March, in order to spend lockdown in their Windsor residence.
Her Majesty is expected to keep that as her home base for the foreseeable future and to commute to London to carry out royal engagements in the future when it is safer.
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The decision to remain at the castle with a small number of household staff rather than changing residences is aimed at reducing the risk of the Queen and Prince Philip contracting COVID-19. It is unclear when they might return, but it is unlikely to be any earlier than 2021.
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The Queen continued to work after lockdown was announced but has not carried out any official duties in person since the start of the pandemic. The 94-year-old was photographed recently at her Scottish estate, where she enjoyed a walk with two of her grandchildren: 16-year-old Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, who is 12.
The Queen is expected to remain at Windsor over the autumn
The children arrived in Scotland with their parents, Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex and were joined by Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who she married in 2018.
The Queen's oldest son Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, are staying at their Birkhall home on the estate while Prince William, Kate and the couple's three young children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are also expected to visit the Queen as they traditionally do at this time every year.
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