The Queen will spend Christmas Day with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, a Clarence House spokesman has said.

It comes after Princess Anne’s husband Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence tested positive for coronavirus yesterday, which means they will now not be spending Christmas with the Queen as they will be isolating.

The Queen usually hosts her family at Sandringham in Norfolk, with crowds of wellwishers turning out to watch the royals walk to the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the estate.

However, it was revealed last week that the Queen had cancelled plans for her pre-Christmas family lunch, due to be held on Tuesday.

The annual event allows members of the family who cannot travel to Sandringham to spend time with the monarch, but last year’s lunch was also cancelled because of the pandemic.

The Queen also spent last Christmas at Windsor, where she and the Duke of Edinburgh stayed shielded throughout lockdowns.

Christmas celebrations for the royals were previously always held at Windsor, but moved to Sandringham in 1988 when the castle was being rewired.