The Queen’s pre-Christmas lunch with her family at Windsor Castle was called off on Thursday as the Omicron variant surges across the UK, driving the highest number of new daily recorded cases.

Her Majesty traditionally hosts the luncheon at Buckingham Palace as an opening to the festive season; she expects most of the royal family to attend, including her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On Wednesday, December 15, health officials reported the highest number of new daily recorded COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 reported cases in 24 hours, about 10,000 more than the previous high reported in January.

More than 11 million people have now tested positive for the disease in the UK, which has a total population of around 67 million.

Many experts have attributed the massive rise in cases to the omicron variant, which is believed to be highly contagious.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged all Brits to get their booster shot as soon as possible to protect the nation’s health system, preventing the reintroduction of restrictions.


According to a royal insider, the Queen regrets that the annual royal get-together, which was scheduled for next Tuesday, December 21, would no longer be on. Last year’s luncheon was also called off due to the COVID-19 crisis.

But Her Majesty also knows that the decision was “the right thing to do”, as it was predicted that the festive lunch would “put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead”.

The Queen’s plan of heading to Sandringham for her annual festive break will still follow, where she is expected to celebrate with a small handful of loved ones.

This year’s celebration will be the Queen’s first Christmas in 73 years without her husband, Prince Philip, who passed away in April.