A leading bookmaker has suspended betting on Britain's Queen Elizabeth announcing her abdication on Christmas Day.
Following a flurry of gambles, Coral has decided to close the market on the 88-year-old monarch confirming she intends to step down from her position during her speech to the nation on Christmas Day.
Nicola McGeady of Coral said: "Throughout the year there has been major speculation about the Queen's future but today's gamble has really caught us by surprise.
"As far as we are concerned there's no smoke without fire when bets like this come through all in succession, so we have decided to be safe rather than sorry and pull the plug on the market."
Although the Queen has scaled down her long-haul travel in recent times, sources close to the monarch have always maintained that she would never abdicate her position.
On her 21st birthday, she said: "I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."
The last British monarch to abdicate the thrown was Edward VIII, who did so in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
The contentious decision meant that his younger brother Albert became King George VI in 1936.
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