Queen Elizabeth has missed the Christmas church service near her Sandringham country residence in eastern England for the first time in decades – because of a heavy cold.<br /><br /> A palace spokesperson said: “The Queen continues to recover from a heavy cold and will stay indoors to assist with her recovery.<br /><br /> “Her Majesty will participate in the Royal Family Christmas celebrations during the day.”<br /><br /> The Queen, who is 90, recently announced that she will be scaling back some of her duties, passing them over to other members of the Royal Family.<br /><br /> She will step down as patron of more than 20 national organisations at the end of the year.<br /><br /> Prince William also missed the Sandringham service this time.<br /><br /> William and Kate, along with their children George and Charlotte, went to church in Berkshire – as they are spending Christmas with Kate’s family.<br /><br /> The Queen’s annual Christmas speech, which was recorded before she fell ill, was broadcast as usual on Christmas Day.<br /><br /> The Queen: “I wish you all a very happy Christmas” #QueensSpeech pic.twitter.com/KHn3CWD1e4— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 25, 2016<br />
