The Queen will spend Christmas at Windsor Castle for the second year running, it was confirmed by Buckingham Palace on Monday.
It's understood the decision was taken as a "precautionary" measure amid rising COVID-19 cases. A royal source has said the 95-year-old will be visited by members of the royal family over the festive period, as she marks the first Christmas without her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away in April.
The royal source added sensible precautions will be taken by those visiting – so who could join the Queen at Windsor this year?
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It has not yet been confirmed where the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be spending Christmas.
Last year, Prince Charles and Camilla stayed at their Gloucester home, Highgrove House, while the Cambridges spent Christmas at their Norfolk abode, Anmer Hall.
It seems likely that the Queen will be visited by her second son, the Duke of York, and his former wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, who live nearby at Royal Lodge.
Her Majesty's granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, is also currently living at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's UK home Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate with her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and their ten-month-old son, August.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesThe royals spent Christmas 2020 separately
The Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, live only a 20-minute drive away from Windsor Castle at Bagshot Park in Surrey. The Wessexes could be among the monarch's first visitors along with their children, Lady Louise Windsor, 18, and James, Viscount Severn, 14, given their close proximity.
It's also possible that the monarch's only daughter, the Princess Royal, and her children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, could make the journey to Windsor from Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire during the festive period. The Queen's eldest great-granddaughter, Savannah Phillips, will celebrate her 11th birthday on 29 December.
Her Majesty traditionally hosts her family at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk over the holidays, and they are watched by crowds as they attend church on Christmas Day. However, the Queen and Prince Philip spent their first Christmas in Windsor in 33 years last year due to the pandemic.
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