Crossword Genius

Queen leaves festival in this direction (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

east

'this direction' is the definition.
(compass direction)

'queen leaves festival' is the wordplay.
'queen' becomes 'ER' (abbreviation for Elizabeth Regina).
'leaves' is a deletion indicator.
'festival' becomes 'Easter' (Christian festival).
'easter' with 'er' taken out is 'EAST'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for east that I've seen before include "4 dn 17 dn" , "Compass point at 90 degrees" , "Opposite of west" , "Compass direction" , "Asia" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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