Queen Elizabeth Might Just, Like, Never Go Back to Buckingham Palace

From Cosmopolitan

• Damn, Queen Elizabeth isn't returning to Buckingham Palace after her summer vacation in Scotland.

• This is the longest the Queen has ever been away from her permanent home.

If you're wondering how Queen Elizabeth has been spending the pandemic, the answer is she's been chilling out at her country home in Scotland and apparently she has no plans to return to Buckingham Palace.

The Queen is currently on vacation at Balmoral Castle, but instead of returning to Buckingham Palace like she usually does, she'll be heading to Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Philip have been living since March. According to The Sunday Times (via People), this is the longest amount of time she's been away from Buckingham Palace in her entire reign as Queen. Per a source, "There is a desire to get Buckingham Palace up and running again as a working palace, but only if all the relevant advice suggests that it is appropriate to do so."

In other words, she's prob not heading home until the pandemic is over—and in the meantime, the coronavirus safety measures around her staff are super strict: Everyone's working in 3-week shifts, then they get to spend two weeks at home, a third week in quarantine, and another three weeks working for Her Majesty after testing negative for COVID-19.

Back in May, a source told The Sun, "No chances can be taken with the Queen and the Duke’s health, so it’s totally understandable. But the fact this move has been taken indicates there will be no change soon. The Queen will clearly be in lockdown for many months."

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