Queen visits church alone as she's forced to delay Christmas trip until opening Parliament
QUEEN ELIZABETH II was spotted heading to church alone on Sunday as she prepared to attend the second State Opening of Parliament in two months.
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The Queen wore a duochrome outfit accessorised with sunglasses, a brooch and her signature pearl earrings yesterday. The monarch was photographed arriving at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park - the church she usually attends on Sundays for service when in Berkshire.
Sitting in the back seat, the monarch seemed to be unaccompanied in the car other than her driver.
The Queen’s working year will officially end on Thursday, when she is due to attend for the second time this autumn the State Opening of Parliament.
In November, Downing Street announced that, if Prime Minister Boris Johnson retained his position after the General Election, he would ask the monarch to deliver the Queen’s Speech on December 19.
After the Conservative Party’s landslide victory, the Queen is now expected to lead a slimmed-down ceremony.
Contrary to what happened on October 14, when the monarch delivered the first Queen’s Speech to Parliament in more than two years, this State Opening of Parliament ceremony won’t feature a procession of carriages and will only see limited regalia.
This also happened in the summer of 2017, following the snap election called by the then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
A Government spokesman said last month: “The State Opening of Parliament will take place with reduced ceremonial elements, as was the case following the early general election in 2017.
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“This is due both to the early general election and the proximity of the state opening to Christmas.”
Prince Charles is once again expected to attend the ceremony alongside his mother.
The Queen’s Speech marks the official reopening of Parliament and allows the Government to bring forward legislation.
Mr Johnson called for Parliament to be reopened just a few days after the elections to allow MPs to discuss and vote his Brexit deal.
The Queen is expected to leave for Sandringham after the ceremony.
The monarch usually travels to Norfolk for her Christmas break between December 18 and 20.
This year, the Queen may be anticipating the beginning of her holidays more than usual, as travelling north will see the monarch reuniting with Prince Philip after weeks apart.
The Duke of Edinburgh is said to have been staying in Sandringham for months, since early September, after his summer break in Scotland.
During the past weeks, the Queen and the Duke are understood to have remained in touch by calling each other daily.
The couple celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary this autumn.
While in Norfolk, the Queen and Prince Philip usually host members of the Royal Family between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Senior royals and the Queen head to church on December 25 for the Christmas service, before having a lavish lunch and gathering in front of the TV to watch at 3pm the pre-recorded Queen’s Christmas speech.
The monarch and Prince Philip usually remain at Sandringham until February.
The Queen’s diary usually starts to fill up again with engagements in mid-February, when she returns to London.