Queen makes secret trip to London as pre-Christmas lunch canceled

The Queen was spotted in London without her walking stick, after she cancelled one of her favourite annual events amid soaring Covid cases.

The Queen was back on her feet for a trip to London last week and reportedly made a secret visit in what is thought to be the first time she has left Windsor since October.

According to The Sun, last week the Queen — whose husband Prince Philip died aged 99 in April — was seen in the capital without a walking stick.

An onlooker said on Friday, local time: “Everyone has been worried sick for the Queen after she went to hospital.

“So it was great she was out and about and on her feet and looking back to her best. Hopefully, being on her feet in London is a sign that we will see her back on engagements soon.”

Her Majesty has been at Windsor Castle since a night in King Edward VII’s Hospital, West London, on 20 October 20.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II poses for a photograph with the Sultan of Oman and his wife during an audience at Windsor Castle where she has mostly been confined. Picture: AFP

The monarch, 95, has been on light duties since spending a night in hospital two months ago.

And this week she axed her annual pre-Christmas party for 50 family members amid Covid fears.

A two-day trip to Northern Ireland to celebrate its 100th anniversary was pulled only hours earlier.

She stayed overnight for “preliminary investigations” but Palace sources would not divulge any more details.

The Queen had also been photographed at two engagements with a walking stick aides said was for comfort.

In October, she cancelled a trip to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow and instead sent a recorded message to world leaders.

Then a back sprain on the morning of Remembrance Sunday in November meant she missed commemorations.

The Queen’s arrangements for a Sandringham Christmas are also under review, it is understood.

WHY THE QUEEN CANCELED PRE-CHRISTMAS LUNCH

The Queen cancelled a pre-Christmas lunch with her family as a safety precaution as Covid cases soar throughout the UK.

The 95-year-old reportedly planned to carry on with the lunch at Windsor Castle with dozens of extended family members, including Prince Charles and Camilla.

But she decided it would be irresponsible to have the party as it would put Christmas plans of too many people at risk if they were forced to self-isolate.

“The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.

“While there is regret that it is cancelled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all.,” a Buckingham Palace source told Reuters.

This Christmas is the Queen’s first since the death of her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen has cancelled her annual pre-Christmas lunch. Picture: Getty

Last year’s Windsor Castle lunch was also scrapped because of the Covid crisis.

Usually The Queen invites her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to join her before she leaves for her annual Christmas stay at Sandringham.

The lunch would have been the first time so many family members had been together since Prince Philip’s funeral.

England’s chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless necessary in the run-up to Christmas after the UK recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 88,376 new infections on Thursday.

An additional 146 deaths caused by Covid-19 were also reported with around 849 patients being admitted to hospital with the virus.

This is The Queen’s first Christmas without Prince Philip. Picture: Getty

Omicron is thought to account for 40 per cent of the UK’s cases.

It comes as a study published in the United States says Omicron is “markedly resistant” to vaccines and boosters won’t help much.

“A striking feature of this variant is the large number of spike mutations that pose a threat to the efficacy of current COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapies,” according to the study authored by more than 20 scientists at Columbia and the University of Hong Kong.

The report said the booster shots prevent some of the neutralisation, but the variant “may still pose a risk” for those with their third shot.

Members of the public in Manchester wait for a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, as cases in the UK soar to record levels. picture: AFP

“Even a third booster shot may not adequately protect against Omicron infection,” the study said.

The results are “in line with emerging clinical data on the Omicron variant demonstrating higher rates of reinfection and vaccine breakthroughs,” the authors said.

The Columbia study warned future strains could be completely resistant to vaccines.

“It is not too far-fetched to think that this [Covid-19] is now only a mutation or two away from being pan-resistant to current antibodies. We must devise strategies that anticipate the evolutional direction of the virus and develop agents that target better conserved viral elements.”