A lockdown-breaking double Downing Street party is alleged to have taken place the night before the Queen laid her late husband Prince Philip to rest.

Downing Street staff drank alcohol into the early hours the night before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, reports The Telegraph.

Hours before Her Majesty was pictured sitting alone at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, two leaving events were held at Downing Street.

The country was in the midst of a lockdown roadmap with indoor mixing prohibited meaning just 30 mourners could attend the celebration of life for the longest-serving consort in British history.


Alleged Downing Street parties timeline


Downing Street staff break lockdown rules

With the nation in a period of national mourning, Downing Street staff allegedly drank and danced along to music until the early hours.

The Government’s own guidance at the time read: “You must not socialise indoors except with your household or support bubble. You can meet outdoors, including in gardens, in groups of six people or two households.”

However, an eye-witness told The Telegraph that around 30 people over both gatherings combined continued drinking and dancing well beyond midnight.

The second gathering that night took place in the NO.10 basement with limited ventilation as someone was sent to a local Co-op with a suitcase to stock up on more booze.

Boris Johnson was not present that day according to a Downing Street spokesman, departing to his country house on Thursday evening through to Saturday.

Boris Johnson facing calls to quit

The latest accusations of Covid rule-breaking at Downing Street will be a blow to the Prime Minister.

This week, Mr Johnson apologised for attending a “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown, but insisted he believed it was a work event and could “technically” have been within the rules.

Members of the Government urged critics of the Prime Minister to wait for the findings of an official investigation into alleged lockdown-busting parties before passing judgment after Tory MPs began publicly calling for him to quit.

It is the latest of a string of leaks and reports about lockdown parties occurring in No 10.