Queen cancels trip to Northern Ireland on medical advice

The Queen has cancelled a trip to Northern Ireland and has ‘reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days’ at Windsor Castle, royal officials said today.

The 95-year-old monarch – who has been seen using a walking stick at engagements over the past week – is said to be in good spirits but disappointed not to be able to carry out the two-day trip, which was due to begin today.

The Queen has had a busy few days and hosted a major global investment summit at Windsor Castle yesterday evening. She also had engagements last week at the Welsh Senedd in Cardiff and Westminster Abbey in London.  

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said in a statement issued shortly after 11am this morning: ‘The Queen has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days. 

‘Her Majesty is in good spirits and is disappointed that she will no longer be able to visit Northern Ireland, where she had been due to undertake a series of engagements today and tomorrow. The Queen sends her warmest good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland, and looks forward to visiting in the future.’

A royal source said there was ‘no cause for caution’ about the Queen’s health – and her decision is understood not to be related to coronavirus. Her condition has not been revealed.

The Queen is double-vaccinated, having been given her first jab by a household doctor at Windsor Castle on January 9 and her second at the end of March ahead of what was her first public appearance in five months.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on whether the head of state had received her booster Covid-19 jab, but given her age it is likely she has already had it. 

It follows reports over the weekend in Vanity Fair that the Queen had been told to stop drinking alcohol by royal doctors, who were said to have advised her to forgo a drink except for special occasions. 

The Queen is now resting at Windsor Castle and is still expected at this stage to attend events linked to the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow at the end of this month.

The Queen carried out 136 engagements in person or via videolink over 130 days last year despite the pandemic, with only Princess Anne (148 over 145 days) and Prince Charles (146 over 141 days) completing more. 

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was among the guests invited to the Queen’s Berkshire home yesterday evening

Yesterday — The Queen appears on a screen via videolink from Windsor Castle, where she is in residence, during a virtual audience to receive the Ambassador from Japan, Hajime Hayashi (centre), and Haruko Hayashi (left), at Buckingham Palace

Prince Charles continued to work today – as he made Mary Berry a Dame Commander during an investiture at Windsor Castle

Yesterday, it was revealed the Queen had turned down the Oldie of the Year trophy because she feels she does not meet the criteria, believing ‘you are only as old as you feel’.

The Queen, who is just five years away from her 100th birthday, is due to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne – next year.

She still keeps a busy diary of events and audiences and deals with her daily red boxes of official papers. 

The Queen held two audiences yesterday via video link from Windsor Castle, greeting the Japanese ambassador Hajime Hayashi and the EU ambassador Joao de Almeida, followed by the investment summit in the evening.

Among those at the Windsor reception for billionaire business leaders, presidential envoys and tech entrepreneurs were Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, US climate envoy John Kerry, Poppy Gustafsson, chief executive of cyber security firm Darktrace, and Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. 

Today, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty urged people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or take up the offer of a booster shot.

He also stressed the importance of wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces after the NHS Confederation called for the introduction of “Plan B” measures which would make face coverings compulsory in some settings in England.

At the weekend, the Queen enjoyed a day at the races at Ascot, and on Monday held a virtual audience with the new governor-general of New Zealand.

Last week, she travelled to Cardiff to deliver a speech at the ceremonial opening of the sixth Welsh Senedd in Cardiff.

The Queen’s husband of 73 years the Duke of Edinburgh died in April at the age of 99.

The monarch has been pictured out and about at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Ascot in the months since, and still enjoys riding her own ponies.

Last week, she used a walking stick for what is believed to be the first time at a major public event when she attended a service marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion. 

She had previously been photographed using a cane in 2003, but that was after she underwent knee surgery.

Last night, the Queen welcomed billionaire business leaders, presidential envoys and tech entrepreneurs to Windsor Castle for a reception following a Government investment summit. 

October 16 — Queen Elizabeth II attends Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire

October 14 — Queen Elizabeth II uses a walking stick attends the opening ceremony of the Welsh Senedd in Cardiff

October 13 — Dame Imogen Cooper is received by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, where she was presented with The Queen’s Medal for Music for 2019

October 12 — Queen Elizabeth II uses a walking stick as she arrives to attend a service at Westminster Abbey in London

Mr Gates was among the guests invited to the Queen’s Berkshire home after the day-long conference in London aimed at encouraging foreign funding by showcasing the best of British innovation.

The Queen was joined by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge at the reception, and met some of the leading figures in the castle’s green drawing room before the royals mingled more widely. 

Neither the royal family nor the guests were wearing masks. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to be introduced first, but he appeared after the Queen began welcoming her guests and took his place at the end of the line.

October 10 — Queen Elizabeth II is seen on her way to The Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor as she returns to church

October 7 — Prince Edward and Queen Elizabeth II attend the launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay for Birmingham 2022, the XXII Commonwealth Games, at Buckingham Palace

October 6 — Queen Elizabeth II gestures as she meets members of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery to mark the 150th Anniversary of the foundation of A and B Batteries, at Windsor Castle

October 4 — The Queen is shown the baton that will carry her personal message at Buckingham Palace in London ahead of the launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

October 2 — Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall looks on at the opening of the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament

October 1 — The Queen and Prince Charles walk to the Balmoral Cricket Pavilion to plant a tree to mark the start of the official planting season for the Queen’s Green Canopy on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland

In a foreword for the Global Investment Summit’s official brochure, the Queen said she was ‘proud’ of how the UK is moving towards a sustainable future but ‘there is still much more to do’.

The head of state also urged nations to ‘rise to the challenge’ and avert the problems associated with climate change.

It comes after the monarch appeared to suggest last week she was irritated by a lack of action in tackling climate change.

In an overheard exchange following the opening of the Welsh Senedd she appeared to express her exasperation just a few weeks before world leaders gather in Glasgow for Cop26.