The Queen was seen smiling in the sunshine today as she was photographed being driven through Sandringham in a Range Rover after heading to her Norfolk estate for the weekend.
The 95-year-old monarch flew to the country estate by helicopter yesterday from Windsor Castle, where she has been resting after her overnight stay in hospital last month as she continues her recuperation.
The Queen, who was wearing a headscarf and sunglasses, was in the A-Bio Sdv8 diesel vehicle travelling towards Wood Farm on the estate, which she used to visit annually with Prince Philip around this time of year.
The head of state is expected to spend the weekend at Sandringham while she has some time off after doctors advised her to cancel all official visits for a fortnight amid her determination to be fit for Remembrance Sunday.
Her Majesty last week pulled out of a planned visit to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow and instead recorded a video message from Windsor last Friday, which was played to world leaders on Monday.
And her 105-mile flight to Sandringham for the weekend comes after insiders said the Queen was determined to host her family at the estate for Christmas this year after the pandemic forced them to scrap last year's event.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment to MailOnline on her trip, and a source said it was a 'private matter'.
The 95-year-old Queen is photographed being driven back to Wood Farm at Sandringham in Norfolk today in a Range Rover
The monarch flew to her country estate of Sandringham (pictured there today) by helicopter from Windsor Castle yesterday
The monarch is expected to spend the weekend at her Norfolk estate of Sandringham after flying there by helicopter
The Queen and Prince Philip used to escape to Sandringham every year around the time of Halloween so they could enjoy some quality time together at Wood Farm on the estate.
And although her 'dear late husband' – as she referred to him this week – died in April, the Queen has decided to honour those cherished memories together by going back to the estate this week.
Wood Farm was where Philip, her husband of 73 years who passed away aged 99, largely spent the last few years of his life following his retirement.
A countryman at heart, he loved Sandringham and relished the relative simplicity of Wood Farm, where his only concession to modernisation had been to put in a new kitchen. If not for the pandemic, which saw him move to Windsor to be with the Queen, it is likely to have been where he would have spent his last days.
A royal source told Mirror Online yesterday: 'The Queen had been hoping she would still be able to spend the weekend at Sandringham and was delighted her doctors gave her the all clear to travel.
'Her Majesty is very much looking forward to hosting her family at her Norfolk home for the Christmas holiday and there is much preparation to be done in time to accommodate everyone who has been invited.
