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England’s Queen Elizabeth II is due to deliver her annual Christmas speech at 4 p.m. CET Friday as she and her husband spend the day separated from their families due to coronavirus restrictions.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrate Christmas at Windsor Castle instead of Sandringham, where the Royal Family typically spend the holidays.
2020 has been a trying year for the UK and the monarch’s speech is likely to alleviate the pandemic’s woes, UK media have reported.
UK among hardest hit countries
On Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a 70% more transmissible variant of the virus was behind the rapid spread of infections in and around London.
As a result, the capital and many other parts of England have seen lockdown restrictions tightened and family holiday reunions canceled.
The virus has been blamed for nearly 70,000 deaths in Britain, the second highest death toll in Europe behind Italy.
Over the past two days, the UK has recorded its two highest daily infection rates, at just under 40,000.
The monarch, 94, and her husband Prince Phillip, 98, are expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, as the rollout of the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine for those over 80 begins in the UK .
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