Queen set for move to Balmoral for summer holiday

The Queen has been isolating at Windsor Castle since March.

With the Duke of Edinburgh, the monarch is expected to spend her summer holiday on the Balmoral Estate, according to reports in The Sunday Times.

However, unlike most years, the family gathering will not include formal meals or events inside, while her grandson, Harry and his wife Meghan and baby Archie will not be able to attend due to travel restrictions from North America.

Instead, guests will stay in properties on the Balmoral estate and join the Queen for walks, shooting, fishing, horse riding, picnics and barbecues.

A “bubble” of household staff will be created at the Balmoral estate, including some members of staff from Windsor Castle who have been with the Queen and her husband throughout the lockdown and will move with her to Scotland.

They include Vice-Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the household; Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary; Paul Whybrew and William Henderson, her pages; Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, her equerry; Terry Pendry, her head groom; Angela Kelly, the Queen’s personal assistant and her senior dresser; Jackie Newbold, Kelly’s PA; and three assistant dressers. Meanwhile, extra chefs, housemaids and support staff already based on the Scottish estate, are understood to be having tests for Covid-19 in preparation for the royal arrival.

The Queen, who left London for Windsor Castle on 19 March and has not returned since, did her first face-to-face royal engagement since lockdown on Friday when she knighted Captain Tom Moore, 100, in an outdoor ceremony after he raised nearly £33m for NHS charities by walking laps around his garden.

In March, it emerged that Prince Charles had travelled from London to Balmoral, where he fell ill and tested positive for coronavirus.

It is expected that Buckingham Palace will announce the Queen’s decision to spend the summer in Scotland later this week.