Normally, Queen Elizabeth II spends the Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve at her country estate in Sandringham, which is in the east of England's county of Norfolk.

However, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the 95-year-old will not make her traditional visit to Sandringham this year. According to the British press, the Queen will stay in Windsor instead.

Royal Family Christmas 2021: The Queen's holiday plans

However, Queen Elizabeth will not be alone at Windsor Castle. She's expected to receive visits from her family, with all measures and rules followed.

The Queen's annual Christmas speech will still go ahead, but her Christmas Day church walk also won't happen since she's not in Sandringham.

The Palace also announced that the pre-Christmas family lunch won't take place because "too many people's Christmas celebrations could be at stake." It's now the second time the Queen will skip Christmas in Sandringham. 

In 2020, the royals were similarly unable to gather due to COVID. Following recent health concerns, Queen Elizabeth also did not take part in public events.

Now, the Royal Family has upped its caution over the holidays as the omicron variant of COVID-19 is currently spreading quickly in the UK.

For England's Queen, this Christmas is the first without Prince Philip. The Queen's husband died in April at the stately age of 99.

Originally, 800 guests were to be invited to Prince Philip's funeral, but due to the pandemic, only 30 royals were there, including the children and grandchildren of the Queen and Prince Philip.

You can also click here to see how all Europe's royal families plan to spend the holidays this year.