Queen Elizabeth II said Friday evening that she would not attend a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London as planned.
Some 1,500 people are expected there, as part of this annual Commonwealth Day, to which the sovereign, who will be 96 years old in April, is very attached, according to AFP.
“The Queen has asked the Prince of Wales to represent Her Majesty in Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement, adding that the Queen “will pursue other scheduled engagements, including in-person engagements in the coming week.
A night in the hospital, then the Covid-19
The palace gave no reason for the cancellation. Difficult, however, to escape questions about the state of health of the sovereign. She had already given up a diplomatic reception on March 2. For months, Her Majesty’s appearances have become rare. After spending a night in hospital in October, for ‘preliminary exams’ of which no details were ever given, she confined herself to ‘light duties’ at Windsor Castle, on the advice of her doctors , says AFP.
Elizabeth II also caught Covid-19 three weeks ago.
Her son Prince Charles said in early March that the world’s oldest incumbent monarch was “much better now.”
The expectation will now be high around the ceremony in memory of Prince Philip, her husband who died last April, which is to take place on March 29 at Westminster Abbey and which Elizabeth II must attend.