- The Queen and Prince Philip are spending their summer at
Balmoral Castle, but this year there will be restrictions to their vacation. - The monarch won't host the Ghillies Ball, an annual party where
royals and staff get together for traditional Scottish dancing. - Instead, the royals will be engaging in smaller scale activities, including family picnics and barbecues, former royal chef Darren McGrady told Insider.
- The Queen reportedly won't attend church, as she usually does every Sunday, as she wants to avoid crowds gathering.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip spend every summer at Balmoral Castle, their holiday home in the Scottish Highlands.
This year is no different, and the couple are hosting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children at the 50,000-acre holiday estate, according to the Mail Online.
However, social distancing restrictions means there are limitations to the activities the royals and their staff will be able to do together while there.
The Queen's inner circle have formed a 'Balmoral bubble'
The Mail Online reported in August that a small number of royal staff formed their own "Balmoral bubble" at the estate, self-isolating for two weeks before they were joined by the monarch and her husband.
"A small number of staff have traveled from Windsor to Balmoral, where effectively a new bubble has been created," a royal aide told the publication.
"Procedures are in place to mitigate any kind of risk. No one has to wear masks in the bubble, as they are deemed safe as one household."
However, the Scottish holiday estate is still far from what it used to be, with various traditional events being canceled for health and safety reasons.
"Right now, Balmoral's different for the Queen. This year will be the most different," Her Majesty's former chef Darren McGrady told Insider.
"There's not a hundred staff. There's no shooting parties, and there's no Ghillies Ball," he added, referencing the annual party hosted by the Queen where guests take part in traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing.
"So it's very quiet for the Queen. They will be doing picnics and barbecues, but on a much smaller scale with the family," McGrady said.
The Queen reportedly won't attend church for the first time in her 68-year reign
The 94-year-old monarch has always attended church, whether that be in London, Windsor, Balmoral, or Sandringham.
At Balmoral, Her Majesty favors Crathie Kirk, and she has been photographed arriving at Sunday services with different members of the
This summer the monarch didn't want to encourage crowds gathering at the church, so has decided not to attend in person, Hello! Magazine's royal correspondent Danielle Stacey reported.
Instead, it seems Her Majesty is worshipping privately at the castle.
"A Service of Prayer and Reflection was held at Balmoral Castle this evening," the court circular read on Sunday, August 30. "The Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie preached the Sermon."
This is a major break in tradition for Her Majesty, who "will always attend church every Sunday, no matter where she is in the country," the Queen's dressmaker Angela Kelly wrote in her memoir last year.
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