Dec 24, 2016 06:04 AM EST By Julia Ramirez, UniversityHerald Reporter

Buckingham Palace released an official statement regarding Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's last-minute decision to cancel their Christmas travel plans. The queen is set to arrive on Wednesday morning, December 21, 2016 at London's King Cross train station to make the yearly journey to King's Lynn in Norfolk. This signals the onset of the royalty's Christmas break at Sandringham. However, the Queen, 90, and Prince Philip, 95, confirmed 30 minutes before they were expected to board the train, that the travel arrangements were cancelled because of "heavy colds."

It was reported by HELLO! Online that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have ill health and decided not to travel to Sandringham.

It has been common practice for the Queen to take the same 10.44 am train from London to Norfolk for many years. Annually, her trip to Sandringham happens after her pre-Christmas party. She rides a first class carriage of the train and purchases a return class fare. People are concerned about the unexpected cancellation.

Queen Passes Patronages To Members of the Royal Family

It has been announced by a spokesperson of Buckingham palace that the Queen would be stepping down as patron from 25 national organizations at the end of her 90^th birthday year. These will be passed on to other members of the Royal Family.

This act is perceived to acknowledge the advancing years of the Queen but Buckingham Palace reiterated that the monarch is still patron of an estimated 600 organizations, according to The Guardian.

The Queen and Prince Philip seem to be in good health when they hosted the annual Christmas lunch for relatives at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen was hospitalized for symptoms of gastroenteritis in 2013 and stayed overnight in a private medical facility. She then canceled and official trip to Rome.

The monarch's private visit to the hospital for a routine medical check-up was confirmed by Buckingham Palace in June last year midst the concern of the state of her health.

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