Queen carries out virtual audiences from Windsor Castle after claims she now uses wheelchair

The Queen has carried out two virtual audiences via video-link from Windsor Castle today.

She received the Ambassador of Qatar and the Ambassador of Poland, who presented their credentials at Buckingham Palace. 

It comes after Christopher Biggins claimed Her Majesty, 95, is using a wheelchair and is cancelling engagements because she is ‘proud’ and ‘doesn’t want to be seen’ struggling.  

She received the Ambassador of Qatar and the Ambassador of Poland (pictured), who presented their credentials at Buckingham Palace

The Queen received Professor Piotr Wilczek, Ambassador of Poland, as well as Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Ambassador of Qatar, and Sheikha Raya Khalifa Abdulla Khalifa Al Khalifa.

On the computer screen showcasing the Queen’s video, the monarch could be seen wearing a purple ensemble with a floral brooch and her standard pearls. 

Her appearance comes after Biggins yesterday told GB News: ‘It’s so very sad and I hope she is able to make her anniversary celebrations.

‘I have heard that the reason she’s not doing a lot of the events that she should be doing and cancelling them is because she is in a wheelchair. She doesn’t want to be seen because she’s very proud.’

It comes after reports Buckingham Palace has a meticulously orchestrated ‘military-style’ plan to take the Queen to Prince Philip’s memorial service next week.

The Queen received Professor Piotr Wilczek, Ambassador of Poland, as well as Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Ambassador of Qatar, and Sheikha Raya Khalifa Abdulla Khalifa Al Khalifa (left)

The operation is said to include flying Her Majesty from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace by helicopter, transporting her by car, and using a private screen to shield her from photographers. 

One source told the Mail on Sunday that Her Majesty does not want to be seen in public in a wheelchair over fears of replicating a ‘haunting’ photo taken of her late sister Princess Margaret in the months before her death. 

She continues to carry out short engagements in person, such as holding private audiences at Windsor Castle, but pulled out of the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey last Monday. 

The Queen has used a walking stick on a number of public engagements but has never been seen in a wheelchair.  

The Queen has cancelled official engagements because she doesn’t want to be seen in a wheelchair, Christopher Biggins claimed. Pictured, the Queen in October 2021

MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. 

Asked by Eamonn about comparisons to Princess Margaret, Biggins said the moment was ’embarrassing’ for Her Majesty and the Royal Family.  

Responding to reports that the Queen has had a wheelchair-friendly lift installed at Craigowan Lodge, her favourite cottage at the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, Biggins claimed installing lifts in houses is all the rage.

‘Everyone I know is putting in lifts,’ he said. ‘You can fit a lift very, very cheaply if you have the space. Two flights of stairs for me now is quite something.’

It comes after the Queen pulled out of the Commonwealth Day service last week over concerns for her ‘comfort’ on the 60-mile trip, and whether she could manage having to sit in Westminster Abbey for more than an hour.  

But she is determined, sources say, to attend the thanksgiving service for the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last April at the age of 99.