The Queen has been forced to remain indoors and out of the public eye for the tenth day as she continues to battle 'a heavy cold'.

The monarch is currently resting at her Sandringham retreat, leading sick jokers to convince people that she had died and there had been a 'media blackout'.

Buckingham Palace was forced to confirm the Queen was alive after the Twitter hoax.

In a statement, it said: ' The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh continue to recover from their heavy colds.'

Her Majesty has not been seen in public for ten days, leading sick jokers to convince people that she had died and there had been a 'media blackout'

It came after a spoof BBC news account tweeted: 'BREAKING: Buckingham Palace announces the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 90. Circumstances are unknown. More to follow.'

The Queen's heavy cold saw her miss the traditional Christmas Day church service for the first time in almost 30 years.

It's extremely rare for Elizabeth, now 90, to miss the service, which is a cornerstone of the royal family's Christmas celebrations.

Elizabeth has been in generally good health and has maintained an active schedule in the last year despite traveling less often than in the past.

The Duke of Edinburgh has also been suffering from a cold, but was able to attend a Christmas Day service at a church in Sandringham (pictured)

Recently she stepped down as patron for about 20 charities and groups to lighten her work load.

Her husband, 95-year-old Prince Philip, has also cut back on his public schedule and his charitable works in the last few years.

He was also suffering from a severe cold earlier in the week, the palace said, but was well enough to attend the traditional Christmas Day church service.