Queen Elizabeth II is ill, missed Christmas and New Year's Day church service

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was not able to attend the New Year's Day church service on Sunday due to a heavy cold.

Buckingham Palace said the 90-year-old queen "does not yet feel ready to attend [New Year's Day] church as she is still recuperating from a heavy cold." There is currently no current indication that she is suffering from a more serious illness.

As reported by Reuters, both the queen and her husband Prince Philip were suffering from severe colds in the weeks leading up to Christmas and delayed their journey from London to Sandringham by a day traveling by a helicopter instead of a train.

Prince Philip, their daughter Anne, and her third son, Edward, along with other members of the royal family attended both the Christmas and New Year services. On Sunday he arrived by car before walking into St. Mary Magdalene parish church. Queen Elizabeth II, the symbolic head of the Church of England, unfortunately made no appearance.

The queen had previously attended the service at the church for decades since 1988 after the royal family started celebrating Christmas at Sandringham.

The queen's prolonged illness has raised some concerns since colds and flus can pose great danger for elderly people, as doctors have warned. The queen has been in good health in the recent years but has been cutting down travelling and public appearance, USA Today reports.

While Elizabeth's father, King George VI, died at the surprisingly young age of 56, her mother, known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, lived up to 101 and was still appearing in public eyes until her death in 2002.

Despite of years of political, social and cultural change, Queen Elizabeth has maintained her popularity as a monarch since she became queen on February 6, 1952 with the age of just 25.