The Queen will celebrate Christmas at Sandringham this year, with her family— after her annual festive party at Windsor Castle

The Queen is expected to spend Christmas at Sandringham this year, after a festive party at Windsor Castle.

• Her majesty will travel to her home in Norfolk to spend Christmas with her family.
• The Queen spent last year with just her late husband Prince Philip - because of Covid restrictions.
• In other royal news, this is what royal fans are saying about Princess Charlotte from the Cambridge’s family Christmas card.

Although Plan B, when it comes to Covid restrictions in the UK, means we have to wear masks in more public places and work from home  - the less strict rules, compared to last year, will hopefully mean we can spend Christmas with our loved ones - and the Queen is no exception. 

Royal sources told the Daily Mail that the Queen is expected to spend the Christmas period with her family in Sandringham this year. Located in Norfolk, Sandringham House stands within a 20,000 acres estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

Her Majesty was forced to break tradition for the first time in 33 years last year when she spent the festive period at Windsor Castle instead of making the trip to Sandringham where she is traditionally joined by the family - including Kate Middleton and Prince Charles.

Instead of traveling by train, the Queen is expected to travel via helicopter, after her yearly festive party - which will take place at Windsor Castle. After a health scare a couple of months ago the royal was instructed by doctors to rest and cancel in-person royal engagements - but her doctors have now given her the go-ahead for the party and to travel up to Sandringham.

Last week that royal expert and biographer, Duncan Larcombe, said the Queen is ready to “pull out all the stops” to make this year particularly magical.

Talking about how the royals will spend Christmas day this year, he said, “They start with the youngest members of the clan coverage on Sandringham’s White Drawing Room on Christmas Eve to help decorate the tree. Christmas officially starts when a gold star is lowered onto the tree, a task that was always performed by Prince Philip.”

The royal family also open their gifts on Christmas Eve before the “grown-ups gather in the dining room for a formal five-course, black-tie dinner of salmon, venison and British beef.”

Other Christmas traditions, on the day itself, include breakfast in bed, then heading to St Mary Magdalene Church for a traditional Christmas Day service.

The Queen's Christmas speech, which she will pre-record before she settles into the Christmas period with her family, is thought to be wrought with emotion this year, as she is expected to pay tribute to her late husband in the annual televised message. 

However, Her Majesty also paid tribute to Prince Philip with this year's Christmas decorations, dedicating a Christmas tree ornament to her late husband's passion—art. Prince Philip, who died aged 99 in April, had always been a creative mind, spending much of his spare time painting.