LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Britons on Wednesday to think twice about holiday socializing as the Omicron variant rampages through the country.
The queen’s decision to call off the lunch for the second year in a row comes as Britain reported a record 78,610 new infections from the virus on Wednesday.
Elizabeth, 95, has largely receded from public view since October, when she abruptly canceled a trip to Northern Ireland after what palace officials characterized as exhaustion.
The queen sequestered herself inside Windsor Castle with her husband, Prince Philip, for the first year of the pandemic.
But the queen ventured back onto the public stage after that, welcoming leaders to the Group of 7 summit in Cornwall and playing host to President Biden and his wife, Jill, at Windsor Castle in June.