Keep Ma’am, and carry on: Queen cancelled two virtual engagements to rest her ‘croaky voice’ after catching Covid… but 95-year-old monarch is ‘on the mend’ and it’s hoped will continue duties next week
- Queen postponed two more virtual audiences yesterday as she continues to suffer from effects of Covid-19
- 95-year-old monarch also cancelled virtual engagements on Tuesday because she wasn’t feeling well enough
- Head of state however did hold her telephone audience with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday
- Queen has run of high-profile events coming up such as Diplomatic Reception at Windsor next Wednesday
- Due to attend Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14 then Philip’s memorial on March 29
The Queen was forced to cancel her two planned virtual engagements yesterday because she is still sounding a ‘little croaky’ and ‘full of cold’ as she continues to isolate with coronavirus, royal sources have revealed.
The 95-year-old head of state, who tested positive on Sunday, also cancelled virtual engagements on Tuesday because she was not feeling well enough – but did hold a telephone audience with Boris Johnson on Wednesday.
Sources said yesterday’s cancellations were made because the monarch ‘understandably still sounds full of cold’, but also stressed that there was nothing to be alarmed about and she seemed to be ‘on the mend’.
And as the Queen continues to rest at Windsor Castle, one source told MailOnline that she was feeling better and the ‘family are confident she will make a full recovery’ – although she is being ‘constantly monitored’.
When Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday that the Queen had tested positive, royal aides said that she was suffering from ‘mild cold-like’ symptoms and would continue with ‘light duties’. It was also hoped she may be able to continue to carry out a number of public duties already scheduled in her diary over the coming weeks.
Aides said they would not be ‘giving a running commentary’ on Her Majesty’s health ahead of three major public events that Buckingham Palace have already announced she ‘hopes to attend’ next month.
The first is next Wednesday when the annual Diplomatic Reception – one of the highlights of the royal calendar – will be at Windsor Castle for the first time since 2019. Instead of the usual grand white tie affair at Buckingham Palace for around 1,000 ambassadorial staff, it will be a smaller lounge suit and cocktail dress event at the castle.
But it would still involve the Queen meeting hundreds of people and standing on her feet for up to an hour. A source said: ‘I think everyone’s energies are being focused on the Queen being better for next week, frankly.’
One option being considered is for her to make a briefer appearance and leave the ‘grip and grinning’ to other members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles and Camilla and Prince William and Kate.
The monarch is also due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service, Britain’s largest interfaith gathering, on March 14, at Westminster Abbey. The Queen is also hoping to attend a service of thanksgiving at the Abbey for the life of her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh on March 29, nearly a year after he died aged 99 at Windsor.
Her Majesty was due to hold two virtual audiences yesterday, but these did not took place – and fears for the longest-reigning sovereign have been heightened given her age, frailer appearance and recent hospital stay.
One royal source told MailOnline yesterday: ‘The Queen is still a little under the weather but is well on the road to recovery and the family are confident she will make a full recovery. However obviously no one is being complacent and she is being constantly monitored.’
It comes after a Buckingham Palace spokesman said yesterday morning: ‘The two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today will now be rescheduled for a later date. Her Majesty is continuing with light duties. No other engagements are scheduled for this week.’
Her ‘light duties’ include working from her red boxes, sent to her every day and containing policy papers, Foreign Office telegrams, letters and other State papers which have to be read and sometimes approved and signed.
The Queen is said to have been suffering from ‘mild cold-like symptoms’, although her audience with the Prime Minister on Wednesday suggested the world’s current oldest and longest-reigning monarch is not seriously ill.
And a royal source claimed on Wednesday night that the Queen’s symptoms were now wearing off, telling The Sun: ‘She’s already getting over her Covid – it’s amazing to think she’s done it so quickly. That’s why she’s such an inspiration. Positive test on Sunday, meeting with the Prime Minister on Wednesday. Not bad for 95.’
Buckingham Palace has said it would not give a running commentary on the health of Elizabeth II, who celebrated her 70th anniversary of becoming Queen earlier this month. No other engagements are planned this week.
Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on February 16, which was four days before her positive Covid-19 test was announced
On Wednesday evening, the Queen would have had much to discuss with Mr Johnson during their weekly telephone conversation – including how the UK Government are dealing with the escalating crisis in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister is also embroiled in the partygate saga, with the Metropolitan Police investigating a dozen events, including as many as six which the PM reportedly attended.
Queen could strip Harry of key role: ‘Counsellors of State’ who can stand in for monarch should live in UK, MPs are told
Prince Harry should not be eligible to stand in for the Queen as a Counsellor of State because he no longer resides in the country, a new parliamentary briefing paper reveals.
But Prince Andrew could still stand in for his mother should she become incapacitated, despite having to step down from public duties and relinquish his HRH title because of the Epstein scandal.
This week the House of Commons Library quietly published for the first time guidance on what arrangements can be put in place if a monarch is unable to perform their royal functions.
It follows intense public debate about the roles of Dukes of Sussex and York as ‘stand-ins’ for the sovereign now they have both quit as working royals, particularly in light of the 95-year-old Queen’s recent ill-health.
The parliamentary briefing paper will increase pressure on Buckingham Palace to take legal steps to resolve the matter once and for all. There have been calls to appoint the next two senior royals in line to the throne – Prince Edward and Princess Anne – in their place.
A Government source said: ‘There’s been a lot of noise about Harry and Andrew and their roles as Counsellors of State and it was felt important MPs had all the facts. It has nothing to do with Her Majesty being ill.’
The Queen’s advanced age, Covid diagnosis, frailer appearance and recent health scare mean her medical team will be keeping a close eye on her progress, but being well enough to speak to Mr Johnson will be taken as an encouraging sign.
It is understood the Queen previously also had a separate planned in-person audience in the diary for yesterday but this was cancelled on Monday in keeping with Covid isolation guidelines.
The nation’s longest reigning monarch, who will have been triple vaccinated, recently spent more than three months resting, on doctors’ orders.
In the autumn, she pulled out of attending the Cop26 climate change summit, the Festival of Remembrance and then the Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph service due to a sprained back.
She also missed the Church of England’s General Synod.
The Queen now regularly uses a walking stick and has been pictured looking frailer recently. She remarked during a Windsor Castle audience last week: ‘Well, as you can see, I can’t move.’
Mr Johnson is the 14th prime minister of the Queen’s long reign.
The pair have held their weekly audiences – which follow Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons – by telephone for much of the pandemic, with the monarch usually seated in her Oak Room sitting room taking the call on an old-fashioned phone.
But Dominic Cummings – the former chief aide to No 10 – claimed Mr Johnson wanted to visit the Queen in person early during the pandemic despite Downing Street staff already falling ill with virus.
Mr Cummings alleged he had to convince Mr Johnson not to visit the monarch by warning about the potentially grave consequences.
Ultimately Mr Johnson and the Queen switched to holding phone discussions on March 18, 2020 as she prepared to socially distance at Windsor, ahead of the first lockdown.
Their first in-person meeting during the pandemic was not until 15 months later on June 23, 2021.
In a 1992 documentary filmed to mark her 40th year on the throne, the Queen gave her view on the importance of her meetings with her prime ministers.
A cameraman stands in front of Windsor Castle on Monday, a day after it was announced that the Queen had tested positive
Armed police stand guard in front of Windsor Castle on Monday where the Queen is still keeping up with official papers
‘They unburden themselves or tell me what is going on or if they have any problems, and sometimes I can help in some way as well,’ she said.
William visits MI6 ahead of Russia’s invasion
The Duke of Cambridge made a secret visit to MI6 – just hours before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.
Second in line to the throne William privately visited the Secret Intelligence Service, which deals with foreign intelligence and protects the UK from risks abroad, in London on Wednesday morning. The visit was not publicised and appeared only afterwards in the Court Circular.
In 2019, William spent three weeks working with MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to learn about how the UK’s security and intelligence agencies worked.
He said then: ‘Spending time inside our security and intelligence agencies, understanding more about the vital contribution they make to our national security, was a truly humbling experience. These agencies are full of people from everyday backgrounds doing the most extraordinary work to keep us safe.’
It is not known whether the duke met with the head of MI6 Richard Moore, known in Whitehall as C.
‘They know I can be impartial and it is rather nice to feel one is a sponge. Occasionally one can put one’s point of view and perhaps they have not seen it from that angle.’
As head of state, the Queen is politically neutral and acts on the advice of her Government in political matters, but her knowledge of politics is immense.
Throughout her reign, she has received weekly briefings from the prime minister of the day, and dozens of government documents pass across her desk every week for formal approval.
Nearly two years ago when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Britain, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip moved to Windsor in March 2020.
The couple, who were married for 73 years, self-isolated with a reduced number of household staff. Philip, 99, died in April 2021, and his funeral was held under strict coronavirus restrictions with the Queen forced to sit alone at St George’s Chapel at Windsor.
Elizabeth II returned to official duties after his death and as restrictions were lifted, but she was forced to slow down on medical advice in October last year.
The palace was forced to confirm that she had an overnight stay in hospital after going in for unspecified tests – and since then her appearances have become rarer.
She held a public engagement at her Sandringham residence in Norfolk on February 5 for members of the local community and volunteer groups, on the eve of the anniversary of her accession to the throne in 1952.
Meanwhile, it was revealed today that the Duke of Cambridge made a secret visit to MI6 yesterday – just hours before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.
Second in line to the throne William privately visited the Secret Intelligence Service, which deals with foreign intelligence and protects the UK from risks abroad, in London yesterday morning.
Royal Family to carry out tours for Platinum Jubilee
The royal family will tour the globe in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be among those carrying out overseas trips this spring to mark the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.
Among the tours will be a visit by heir to the throne Charles with Camilla to the Republic of Ireland from March 23 to 25.
William and Kate will travel to the Caribbean, touring Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas from March 19 to 26.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines from April 22 to 28, and the Princess Royal will visit Papua New Guinea from April 11 to 13.
The Queen, who currently has Covid, reached her Platinum Jubilee on February 6, becoming the first British monarch in history to do so. She called time on her overseas travel a number of years ago, leaving the duties to other family members.
Jubilee tours abroad have long been carried out in celebration of the Queen’s milestone anniversaries.
Kensington Palace said William and Kate were particularly looking forward to their first joint tour since the start of the pandemic, and have asked to meet as many local people as possible.
They will visit historic Mayan sites and celebrate the rich culture of the Garifuna community in Belize, as well as exploring the country’s biodiversity.
In Jamaica, they will engage with the Jamaican Defence Force and celebrate the legacy of Bob Marley and other ground-breaking Jamaican musicians alongside potential stars of the future.
In the Bahamas, the Cambridges visit a number of islands and experience a world famous junkanoo parade.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘Throughout their visit, the duke and duchess will take the opportunity to commemorate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.
‘Their programme will also touch on a number of themes that are close to Their Royal Highnesses’ hearts and a key focus of their work with The Royal Foundation, including The Earthshot Prize, mental health and the importance of early childhood to lifelong outcomes.’
She added: ‘Their Royal Highnesses are very much looking forward to the visit, which will be their first joint official overseas tour since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020.’
The Cambridges are also keen to learn more about the impact of the pandemic on the Caribbean and how communities coped.
The spokesman added: ‘As with previous overseas visits, the duke and duchess have asked that this tour allows them to meet as many local people as possible.’
The monarch’s Jubilee is being celebrated with national festivities in the UK on a four-day bank holiday weekend in June.
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