The Queen starts Christmas holiday after illness delay

LONDON (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth, 90, and her husband Prince Philip, 95, left Buckingham Palace by helicopter on Thursday, going ahead with their Christmas travel plans following a day's delay because both were suffering from heavy colds. Elizabeth, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, and Philip had originally been due to catch a train from London to their Sandringham country residence in Norfolk, eastern England, on Wednesday. "I can confirm that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have left Buckingham Palace and are travelling to Sandringham," said a palace spokesman on Thursday without giving further details. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison)