Buckingham Palace says that doctors have advised the Queen to rest for at least another two weeks and postpone any official appearances.
It means the 95-year-old will miss the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance on the eve of Remembrance Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall, however she intends to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “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. The doctors have advised that Her Majesty can continue to undertake light, desk-based duties during this time, including some virtual audiences, but not to undertake any official visits. Her Majesty regrets that this means she will be unable to attend the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday 13 November. However, it remains her firm intention to be present for the national service of remembrance on Remembrance Sunday, on 14 November.”
A palace source said that Queen’s medical team are taking “sensible precautions”. She recently underwent tests that required her to spend the night at the King Edward VII hospital in downtown London. The source said that the Queen is in “good spirits” and filmed her Cop26 address on Friday afternoon, which will be shown to delegates in Glasgow next week. She was supposed to hold a reception in Glasgow for international leaders, which would have included other members of the royal family, such as the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The Queen was believed to be continuing with light duties and holding virtual audiences this week, but she decided it was prudent to provide prior notice and postpone her scheduled presence at the Festival of Remembrance so that the hosts could make other preparations.
She had previously cancelled her trip to Cop26 as well as a two-day trip to Northern Ireland. Despite her intention to attend the Cenotaph ceremony, the Prince of Wales will once again lay the wreath on her behalf, as he has done every year since 2017.
