Start of the Queen’s staycation! Monarch and Prince Philip ‘fly to Balmoral’ to start their summer holiday after months isolating at Windsor Castle
- The Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, are expected to fly to Balmoral today
- The couple will remain at the Aberdeenshire estate until early October
- They will be joined by a pared back staff who have been isolating at Windsor
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are expected to fly to Balmoral today for the start of their summer holiday.
The couple, who have been isolating at Windsor Castle since March, will travel by plane and will remain at the Aberdeenshire estate until early October.
A group of aides have already travelled up to the Scottish home of the Royal Family to prepare the castle for the couple’s arrival.
Buckingham Palace previously announced the Queen and Prince Philip would make the journey ‘in early August’ although an exact date was not confirmed.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are expected to fly to Balmoral today for the start of their summer holiday. Pictured, the couple in June at Windsor Castle
The Queen and Prince Philip are expected to be joined by family members during their stay but will maintain social distancing in a bid to protect the couple, both in their 90s, from the risk of Covid-19.
Family members will not stay in the castle with the couple as they have done in previous years and will instead be housed in other properties in the grounds of the 50,000-acre estate.
They will be able to meet her for outside activities instead including walks, horse riding and picnics.
Staff have already at Balmoral are thought to have quarantined for two weeks.
They will create a so-called ‘Balmoral bubble’ to help protect the Queen and Prince Philip.
They include Vice-Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the household; Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, and Paul Whybrew and William Henderson, her pages.
A group of aides have already travelled up to the Scottish home of the Royal Family to prepare the castle for the couple’s arrival. They will live in the main castle, pictured
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 will also join, according to The Sunday Times.
Previous reports suggest staff have been banned from social activity and the annual Ghillies Ball has also been cancelled due to coronavirus.
An insider told the Mail on Sunday ‘stir-crazy’ aides are staying in the New Block, a dull granite building with a dozen bedrooms outside near the castle.
The insider said: ‘Without all the normal facilities which make a stay pleasant for staff, everyone’s saying it’s like being in Colditz, the prisoner of war camp.
‘It’s the assignment from hell because there is absolutely nothing people can do. The social club remains shut and the staff bar closed. With so little to do they’re going stir-crazy.’