Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle have canceled all large-scale events set to take place at the two royal institutions for the rest of the year.
The palace released a statement regarding the cancellations today. The announcement is a precautionary measure following the news of rising coronavirus cases across the United Kingdom.
"In line with current government guidelines, and as a sensible precaution in the current circumstances, there will be no large scale events held at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle for the rest of the year," began the statement. "A variety of possibilities were examined to see if it was possible for Investitures to safely take place in line with the guidelines. Sadly, due to the large numbers of guests and recipients attending, it was not possible to find a way of safely delivering these events in the current circumstances. Recipients will be contacted directly."
The statement also shared how the cancellations would affect Queen Elizabeth II and her upcoming engagements.
"The Queen's intention remains to return to Windsor Castle in October and to resume the use of Buckingham Palace during an Autumn programme of Audiences and engagements, in line with all relevant guidance and advice," concluded the statement.
The royal family has had a slew of special events and appearances canceled since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Signature events such as the queen's summer parties in the Buckingham Palace gardens and the annual Trooping the Colour parade have been postponed until it's safe for the public to convene together again.
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
