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This week, Her Majesty left Windsor Castle with Prince Philip and travelled to Balmoral Castle for the rest of the summer. The Queen had been living in Windsor Castle during coronavirus lockdown.

During her stay at Balmoral, the Queen normally worships at Crathie Kirk, but this year, she has decided to not attend church due to COVID-19 precautions.

A royal aide said: “It is simply a sensible precaution in the circumstances.”

The church has been the place of worship for the Royal Family for 150 years but was closed during the pandemic.

But the Church of Scotland minister, Reverend Kenneth Mackenzie, confirmed the church will reopen for Sunday morning services.

Under current guidelines, worshippers must give contact details for possible COVID-tracing, wear face masks and avoid singing.

On normal circumstances, crowds gather outside the church to watch the monarch arrive and depart from worship.

However, Mr Mackenzie thinks this would be “very unlikely” given the current climate.

Instead of attending the usual service, Buckingham Palace said any plans for the Queen’s Sunday worship would be private.

Her Majesty will be staying in Balmoral until early October, with family members visiting over the summer period.

According to reports, royal staff in Balmoral have been quarantined for two weeks to minimise the risk of coronavirus.

Earlier this week, fears for Her Majesty’s safety were raised after Aberdeen was forced to go back into lockdown following an outbreak of coronavirus clusters in the city.

Face coverings are now mandatory in more indoor places across Scotland.

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Aberdeen’s lockdown came just six days after parts of the North West of England were placed back under strict restrictions.

In Manchester, people face £100 fines if they breach the new rules.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new measures in Aberdeen will be backed by government regulations and will be enforced if they are breached.

Balmoral is considered to be one of the Queen’s favourite places in the world.

Normally, the Queen spends the entire summer in her Scottish home but her trip was postponed this year due to the pandemic.

As the UK went into lockdown back in March, the Queen and Prince Philip have been staying at Windsor Castle.

Fears have been raised over whether Her Majesty will return to London following her break at Balmoral.

A palace aide said last month: “Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s home during the working week, but the working week has been heavily disrupted.”

It came after Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle became the latest establishments to make redundancies.

All staff at both Royal homes including tour guides, caterers, office staff and wardens at the royal attractions have continued to receive full pay despite being closed for 15 weeks.

Buckingham Palace will continue to remain closed as the deadly pandemic severely impacts the tourism industry.

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