Queen Elizabeth II to rest ’for at least’ next two weeks: Palace
LONDON
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will take medical advice and rest for "at least" another two weeks, Buckingham Palace said on Oct. 29, having recently spent a night in hospital to undergo "preliminary examinations".
"Following on from their recent advice that The Queen should rest for a few days, Her Majesty’s doctors have advised that she should continue to rest for at least the next two weeks," said a palace statement.
Doctors have advised that the 95-year-old, who is due to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee marking 70 years on the throne next year, can continue to undertake light, desk-based duties, said the statement.
She will conduct some virtual audiences, but will not undertake any official visits.
"It remains the Queen’s firm intention to be present for the National Service of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday, on 14th November," added the statement.
After seven decades of relentless service, a night in hospital forced the queen to take medical advice to slow down.
She cancelled her appearance at the UN climate conference, which starts on Sunday in Scotland, a rare move for the workaholic monarch and all the more telling given her personal commitment to environmental issues.
Buckingham Palace said she was "disappointed" to pull out, but that the decision was taken following medical advice "to rest".
A two-day trip to Northern Ireland was also shelved.
The Queen took a step back from work on October 20, the day after a reception at Windsor Castle where she chatted with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US billionaire Bill Gates.
She spent the following night in hospital, her first since 2013, where Buckingham Palace said she underwent "preliminary examinations".
The monarch had appeared in strong form in public until recently, despite the loss of her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip in April.
She had been attending official engagements almost daily, similar to her pre-pandemic workload, since returning from her traditional summer holiday in Balmoral, Scotland.
But she made the headlines recently after being seen walking with a cane, and The Sun tabloid reported that she had also stopped walking her corgis in recent days.
The Queen is reported to have stopped riding her horses, a keen passion, although she plans to take it back up again after resting. She is also believed to have given up drinking alcohol.
The monarch will likely conduct "fewer personal appearances and more on video," royal expert Penny Junor told AFP earlier this week.
"And where she does appear I would guess it will be as a spectator rather than at receptions where she has to work a room and meet dozens of people".
She will address COP26 by video, but it will be her son Prince Charles, heir to the crown, who will deliver the opening in-person speech.
The 72-year-old prince, who lacks his mother’s popularity, has already been representing her abroad since she gave up foreign duties.