First time in 30 years: Queen misses Christmas service due to severe cold

The large British royal family attended the traditional Christmas service at Sandringham today. What drew the most attention was the absence of Queen Elizabeth, who for the first time in 30 years did not attend the service due to a severe cold.

The past week was full of trials for the royal family; the Queen (90) and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh (95) were both suffering from a severe cold, and they were also surprised by the tragic news that their granddaughter Zara Tindall had lost a baby in the early stages of pregnancy.

It also came as a surprise that the Queen's great-grandchildren Prince George and Princess Charlotte would not be with her at Christmas, as they would spend the holiday with their maternal grandparents.

Prince Harry, who has recently attracted great attention from world media due to his romantic relationship with Canadian actress Meghan Markle, stayed with the family during Christmas. Although the new girlfriend was not invited to join the royal family during the holidays, his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, made it known that she supports his romantic relationship with the actress.

In her traditional Christmas message broadcast by the media, the Queen praised the „inspiring“ British athletic team and the „extraordinary achievements of ordinary people“.

Her message comes at the end of a year in which the Queen celebrated her 90th birthday, Great Britain voted to leave the EU – Brexit, following which Prime Minister David Cameron resigned.