A Buckingham Palace source has denied suggestions Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is to announce her abdication on Christmas Day.
A leading bookmaker has suspended betting on the 88-year-old monarch announcing her intention to abdicate during her annual speech, but an insider has denied the claim.
A royal source explained to The Independent newspaper that the message is pre-recorded and the Queen has never used it to make specific announcements.
The insider also cited the words of the Queen when she was coronated, when she said that "whether long or short, her entire life would be in service of the nation".
Coral had earlier decided to close the market on the Queen abdicating after receiving a number of large bets, leading to speculation there had been a leak from within Buckingham Palace.
Nicola McGeady of Coral said: "As far as we are concerned there’s no smoke without fire when bets like this come through all in succession, so we have decided to be safe rather than sorry and pull the plug on the market."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Queen has pointed out that it is the Palace’s policy "not to comment on any bookmakers’ work".
Buckingham Palace insider denies abdication rumour
