A major blindside occurred this week for the British royal family after Patricia Earl, who had been the head housekeeper at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate for 32 years, mysteriously quit her job.

The Sun reported that Earl left her position after a staff revolt at Sandringham in which workers refused a plan for them to remain on the estate and isolate from their loved ones for a month during the holiday season. Earl, 56, was reportedly so “embarrassed” that her staffers rejected the plan that she decided to quit her job.

Earl had been working for the Queen for 32 years, and had been in her current role of head housekeeper for the past fourteen years. She was a highly respected member of the Queen’s staff, and she was even awarded the Royal Victorian Order for her service to the Queen in 2018.

The Queen, 94, was said to have been “furious” when she heard that staffers at Sandringham were refusing to isolate from their families for weeks at a time during the Christmas season. Earl is believed to be leaving her post later this month, and she refused to comment on the situation when contacted by reporters.

“This was a completely amicable departure,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.

This comes days after it was announced that the Queen would not be spending Christmas at Sandringham for the first time in 32 years. Instead, she will be celebrating Christmas at Windsor Castle, where she has been isolating with her 99 year-old husband Prince Philip for months amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

“Having considered all the appropriate advice, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have decided that this year they will spend Christmas quietly in Windsor,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement, according to Entertainment Tonight.

It’s been a tradition for decades that the British royal family spends Christmas at their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. There, they typically make public appearances on Christmas morning at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene service. However, royal reporters say that the 94 year-old Queen is not planning to attend any church services due to concerns over crowds amidst COVID-19.

“Christmas is something the Queen has always done with enormous, genuine family style, and is facing not doing so sadly,” royal biographer Robert Lacey, author of “Battle of Brothers,” previously told People Magazine. He added that “she is accepting of that.”