Queen Elizabeth misses second church service with heavy cold

By : AFP

Date: 1 January 2017 11:13am WAT

(FILES) This file photo taken on November 24, 2016 shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaving Westminster Abbey in central London on November 24, 2016, after attending a Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate 60 years of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Queen Elizabeth II is to miss the Christmas Day church service attended by the British royal family as she continues to suffer from a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said on December 25, 2016. The 90-year-old, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, will join in the family festivities later in the day, a spokesman said. Justin TALLIS / AFP

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Queen Elizabeth II will not attend a New Year’s Day church service because of a lingering “heavy cold” that also forced her to stay at home on Christmas Day, Buckingham Palace said Sunday.

The 90-year-old monarch, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, will not join other members of the royal family as they attend church in Sandringham in Norfolk, eastern England.

“Her Majesty The Queen will not attend Sunday worship at Sandringham today,” the palace said in a media statement.

“The queen does not yet feel ready to attend church as she is still recuperating from a heavy cold.”

The royal family traditionally spends Christmas together at the queen’s private Sandringham estate and attends services at the local St Mary Magdalene church.

The monarch and her 95-year-old husband Prince Philip delayed their departure from London by a day as they were both suffering from heavy colds.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attended the Christmas Day service without his wife and is also expected to attend on Sunday.