There was some interesting reporting over the weekend about the Queen’s health and mobility. The Queen hasn’t been seen at an event since July 15, and she has not been photographed outdoors whatsoever in Scotland, where she’s been for the past six weeks or so. She hasn’t even been seen at church. Reportedly, Prince Charles has made a point of visiting the Queen every day at Balmoral, and Prince Andrew has been staying in the Balmoral big house this entire time. This coming weekend, the Queen was supposed to attend the Braemar Games. Next week, she’s supposed to meet the new prime minister. It looks likely that she won’t be able to do either of those events.
The Queen is ‘carefully considering’ whether she is fit enough to attend the Braemar Games next weekend as concerns grow over her mobility issues, The Mail on Sunday understands. The Highland Games, which are often attended by the Queen and the Prime Minister of the day, are usually a highlight in the monarch’s calendar. This year’s competition – which will see contestants battle it out in caber-tossing and tug-of-war in front of spectators – is the first to be held since the start of the pandemic.
A source revealed last night that the Queen is keen to attend if her health will allow it. She was last seen in public on July 21, when she flew to Aberdeen Airport to begin her annual holiday at Balmoral.
The source added that in the past fortnight, Her Majesty has been delighted to receive ‘family visitors’ at her Scottish estate with ‘lots of the great-grandchildren’. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte headed up last week, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise and Viscount James have also been to visit.
Another source added that there had been ‘a change in the past few weeks’ in the Queen’s mobility, which meant that she was ‘resting’ a lot more.
The 96-year-old is likely to concede that she will no longer be able to fly down to London to appoint a new Prime Minister. It had been hoped the Queen would head to Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace to fulfil what is known as her ‘personal prerogative’ – to invite a new leader to form a government. But her health on recent days ‘may make it unlikely’, according to a well-placed source. The decision will be announced this week.
The nine-mile trip to Braemar for next weekend’s games, however, may yet be possible.
[From The Daily Mail]
I mean, they’ve used this kind of carefully gloomy language about the Queen’s health before and then she’s turned up to events with a cane and a smile. So I don’t know. I do think this is notable though: “Another source added that there had been ‘a change in the past few weeks’ in the Queen’s mobility, which meant that she was ‘resting’ a lot more.” I’ve believed for much of the past year that the Queen has been falling. I think she’s had a few really bad falls, falls which have scared the crap out of the people around her. I think there are mobility problems but there’s something going on with her balance, her hips and her physical strength. It will be interesting to see if she skips the Braemar Games completely.
Photos courtesy of Instar, Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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