Heartbreaking tradition to be forsaken as Queen moves Christmas

The Queen's Christmas at Sandringham being called off this year marks a breaking with many royal festive traditions, including one paying homage to her late father.

Typically, Christmas is an all-out affair at the Sandringham estate, with Her Majesty and Prince Philip spending the holiday with other senior members of the royal family.

Long after the Queen's relatives have left the estate, the Christmas decorations don't usually come down for several weeks — a ritual in memory of King George VI.

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Her Majesty's father died on February 6, 1952 of lung cancer, just days after he had waved his daughter and her husband off at the airport as they headed to Kenya.

They were meant to then fly to Australia for a royal tour, but when the then-Princess Elizabeth heard her father had died suddenly in his sleep, she flew straight home.

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She was crowned Queen Elizabeth II soon after, but her father's death has always been a painful memory for Her Majesty.

"It all seems so unbelievable still that my father is no longer here, and it is only after some time has passed one begins to realise how much he is missed," she wrote to her secretary not long after his passing.

In honour of her late father, the Queen and Prince Philip usually stay at Sandringham until February 6, keeping the Christmas decorations up until the day they return to Buckingham Palace.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the royal family's usual Christmas plans change dramatically.

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Her Majesty has cancelled the annual Buckingham Palace Christmas Party for family and staff, while the Christmas service at St Mary's Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate has also reportedly been called off.

This is, in part, to deter locals from lining the pathways to give their best wishes and get a glimpse of the royals on the holiday.

Instead, the Queen and Prince Philip will mark Christmas 2020 at Windsor Castle, away from the ongoing pandemic.

Perhaps the royals will observe these traditions in their own homes, including opening presents early and exchanging gag gifts.

Members of the royal family have long opened their gifts on Christmas Eve, in keeping with Her Majesty's German heritage.

But the youngest members of the family have reportedly changed the tradition, with Kate Middleton revealing last year that her children open their gifts on Christmas morning.