A week ago, Buckingham Palace had to admit that Queen Elizabeth was hospitalized overnight following her cancellation of her Northern Ireland trip. The palace had to admit (in so many words) that they actually covered up the hospitalization for about 48 hours. You would think that the royal reporters were used to being lied to, but they’ve been performing their outrage consistently for the past week. Now QEII has cancelled her in-person appearance at COP26, the climate conference in Glasgow. Roya Nikkah apparently got some extensive briefing from the palace about what it all means. Curious that she doesn’t think they’re lying to her again!
Royal experts suggested today that there could now be a ‘reassessment and possibly a slight gear change in the kind of work the Queen does’ after the monarch last night dramatically pulled out of attending Cop26. Palace sources insisted that her decision not to travel to Scotland was simply a ‘sensible precaution’ in light of her doctor’s advice to rest and that she was determined the conference should be a success. Another source said it would have been ‘unwise’ for the Queen to make the 800-mile round trip from Windsor to Glasgow for the major event which aims to agree crucial global action on climate change.
Royal expert Roya Nikkhah said today: ‘We had some quite interesting background guidance yesterday from royal sources saying that although she’s not going to be there in person, she is going to filming this video address this week and she is going to be working behind the scenes to make sure there are meaningful actions. And I thought what was really interesting was the guidance we had that she’s very keen that other world leaders and heads of state don’t use her absence as an excuse not to attend. So she’s following it very, very closely.’
Ms Nikkah, royal editor of the Sunday Times, who was speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, added: ‘It’s quite a trip for a 95-year-old and she’s had this incredibly packed both public and private diary for a few weeks, which has obviously left her pretty tired. And I think the feeling probably was – we don’t know, because we’re not doctors – but the feeling probably was from her doctors it was a little bit much for her to go up and do all that. And it’s not just the travel – it’s also being on. It’s also entertaining and hosting world leaders, talking to them about climate change and all of that – I think the feeling probably is that’s just a little bit too much at the moment until she’s back to full strength.’
She continued: ‘I think there will be a reassessment and possibly a slight gear change in the kind of work the Queen does, the distances she travels, but I don’t think we will see – all being well, if the Queen is able to continue with public duties as we hope that she will be – I think we will still see her out and about as much as she and her doctors feel she can – but I think there will be a gear change, and her private secretaries and her diary secretaries looking at engagements that come in and thinking what does Her Majesty the Queen really need to be at, and what does she feel she really can do. So I think there will be a constant review going forwards now.’
Roya Nikkah is working as a palace stenographer at this point, because this is just the official palace line. And it’s strictly Buckingham Palace too – I would imagine royal sources close to Clarence House and Kensington Palace have a much different story. Well, at least KP would have a different story if William and Kate were not on vacation yet again during QEII’s health crisis.
If that’s not curious enough, the Sun (via the Mail) reports that the Queen stopped riding horses two months ago because she was in significant “discomfort.” The Queen basically only rides now for fun, on her private estates, and she hasn’t ridden a horse at a public function in many years. But she enjoyed riding privately at Balmoral or Windsor. Something happened in “the beginning of September” and the Queen has only felt discomfort since. Which goes to my theory that so much of this is about balance issues and walking issues. I suspect she’s fine when she’s seated (just not on a horse). Which makes me wonder if we’ll see the Queen in a wheelchair at some events from now on.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
Maybe she had a pretty bad fall? And are the Cambridges going to be taking over any engagements from her? Any words on that?
My taking of this too! That would explain a lot!
They’ll let us know when they get back from Mustique.
@Becks1: even before her health scare, i think its pretty telling that the queen who is in her 90’s didn’t want to pass any of her work down to william and kate so that she could take it a bit slower. We know charles has been taking a bit of her workload but not the future future’s? Curious.
I agree Chloe, especially since we’ve been hearing for years that the Cambridges were going to “step up” and “take on their future roles” and whatever other nonsense the RRs come up with. The fact that the Queen took William to Scotland with her after he and Kate went a month before tells me that the Queen does not trust the Cambridges and doesn’t think they’re up to their future jobs.
Becks1: i think everybody in the royal pack, from family members to courtiers to the royal press pack, knows that the Cambridges aren’t suited for the job. Which is why they are still throwing a hissy fit about Harry leaving and why we got all those “william wanted to share the burden with harry” stories a while back. William is too incompetent and they know it.
The thing is: you just can’t have it both ways. You can’t expect harry to take second place in everything and be a servant and put his head down so that he’ll be less popular, and expect him to carry the monarchy into the next generation.
If they wanted harry, and valued him, they would have been, and should have been, nicer to him and his wife. And they should have embraced their collective star power.
@Chloe, didn’t want or couldn’t? She may have tried but they are just so damn lazy and stupid.
This is beyond stupid. A 95 year old woman cannot depend on her grandson, or his lazy wife, and this is what we can expect until TQ dies. But carry on, British media, insisting Harry and Meghan are the problem. Effing hell, her corgis are more dependable than her second “heir”, and his useless wife.
Or one or more mini strokes…
For a group that insisted they had the right to know the minute Meghan felt her first contraction, they seem to be relatively calm about whatever is going on with the queen health-wise right now.
I wonder if she fell a few months ago and hurt….well, anything, really, tailbone, hip, back – and she can’t ride at this point and it makes walking difficult etc. Or if her sense of balance really is that bad at this point, maybe her doctors said “no” to riding as well as drinking since she refuses to wear a helmet.
For the love of God, she is 95. She should be resting and doing nothing. I am about half her age and I feel like doing nothing most days.
And what does: “she is going to be working behind the scenes to make sure there are meaningful actions” mean?????? Always ambiguous and always cloudy with a chance a meatballs.
Lastly, she is not riding horses. She cannot be. IF she ever fell off a horse it would be the end of her. No one is that stupid to chance it. Do they mean a hobby horse?
She has been riding on fell ponies, not full grown horses anymore. But of course, a fall from one of these isn’t that fun either.
The last pictures of her on a fell pony date back from 8th september. I happened to see and safe them before they were taken down from instagram again, which happened pretty quickly to be honest and I have not seen them later.
That is still too large for her at her age. If my grandmother wanted to get on a horse, any horse, at this age I would look at her like she has lost it. Sometimes, regardless if one is monarch of the state or the family, others need to be the voice of reason.
Seraphina, have you MET any hard core senior horse people?
The person who tries to get in the way of one of them climbing into the saddle is likely to get a riding crop to the knee and a boot from the saddle for good measure once aboard.
I think the timeline is right for a fall, and there may have been a concussion involved. Timeline, balance issues, cane all line up with recovery from the jarring of a moderate fall. Though she’s never been one to wear a helmet, she could easily have had a concussion even if she was wearing one.
I have never met them. I have taken classes as well as used to ride. For me, and based on my experience, it is crazy to put a 95 year old on a horse regardless of size. Hell, I trip over my cat.
Seraphina, 40 years experience here and deeply involved in that world. The seniors are insanely tough. Hell, I started retraining right off the track Thoroughbreds in my mid 40s. Its a special class of stubborn and can’t be told lol and God bless ’em for it.
Maybe she actually fell from the pony and that’s part of why she doesn’t want to/can’t ride anymore.
True. I am 64 and I tripped and fell at my office. I just recently got off physical therapy. It wasn’t even a big distance. I cannot imagine falling from a horse or a pony.
@Leigh I was duct taped to a saddle when I was 2 & if they need to duct tape me to one when I’m HM’s age (God willing) it’s what they shall have to do. Happiness is looking through a horses ears
Yes, it is of course too large for her and I have been worried about her sitting on a pony for some time. Emma (the pony) may be a calm and quiet friend but she is still an animal and there can always happen something unexpected that makes her startle or jump or whatever. And I dont know if HM could still rein her in.
I’m pretty sure she has not listened to anyone for ages. All the lines that claim, now that Philip has gone, nobody tells her what to do anymore. BS in my eyes. I doubt that he called everytime from Wood Farm to tell her what to do.
It sounds like she’s had a bad slip or fall.
Off of a horse 🤔
Well congrats courtiers for finally using your brains.
Also good luck for now having to use what little intelligence and hindsight you have, to figure out how to make the other senior royals step up.
Edward, Anne, Sophie, Charles and Camilla are stepped up. It’s just two senior royals in particular who aren’t willing to work. Heck, Meghan and Harry offered to work before William threw them to the wolves.
I really don’t get why they don’t compel lazy William to start working.
Delete
My theory is Buckingham and Clarence want to suck up to William because Charles may not reign long. Both may have long Covid but Charles is older. Charles’ fingers are bloated too, maybe he has hidden health issues. Also likely William terrifies them (of course) and he keeps threatening to step down. There are others in line of course, but I don’t think the BRF can handle an abdication crisis in this century since the monarchy is getting less popular with every modern generation in the UK and Commonwealth. Also if William threatens to remove himself and his children, the racist courtiers and Tories would not want Harry and his biracial wife to be next.
He has always had puffy fingers; Queen Mary used to call them sausage fingers. He has rosacea and arthritis, just like Philip, not any serious health issues.
Does anyone feel like roya was just repeating herself. That whole article could have been a sentence or two and it still would have said absolutely nothing. Lol. All the dramatics.
Sad sad life of a royal reporter.
Lol that is about 90% of royal reporter articles. They all repeat themselves over and over.
And so it begins. It feels like this is the beginning of Charles really coming forward. Too many indications of her scaling back many things that seem to be coming directly from the palace.
It really is time for a regency. I know that seems radical, but yes, she is 95, she just lost her husband of 70 years or so, and apparently her health is worsening, so it is time for Charles to step forward in an official capacity.
I agree, it’s a poor look on England for the COP26 that their monarch is not present.
I still don’t believe she’s on her deathbed and that her days are numbered. BUT I definitely do think she’s tired and cannot work at the same schedule as before due to age. And it seems courtiers are just realising that. Or maybe they knew all along but didn’t want to acknowledge it because it means HM is one step closer to death and Charles is one step closer to the crown.
Hmmm, looks like it could be a significant “gear change” for Will and Kate, too. I’m also puzzled by what the Queen could possibly do to effect “meaningful actions,” whether she could attend the summit or not.
She’s very keen that other world leaders not use her absence as a reason not to attend. This just tells me they’re really concerned about who’s going to attend things once the queen is gone. Will they try to guilt the world leaders in the future with its what the queen would have wanted?
I think the courtiers may have finally came to the realization that they’re f*cked, which they should’ve know for some time honestly. The queen not being able to carry in as normal seems to have made something click for them and they are frightened. Charles works hard, for a royal anyway, but he does not have the affection that the queen holds. He also is up to his eyeballs in political meddling and shadiness, which contradicts the royal myth of being neutral and above it all. The Keens are hella lazy and not even her majesty’s hospitalization will get them to cancel a vacation, which does not bode well for any further stepping up. The one couple that could’ve taken over the reigns at this time with a work ethic and popularity were pushed out and then firm stupidly rejected half in half out. The palace has no plan b other than polishing the turd that is the Cambridges, so what do they do now?
When I first read that she was worried other world leaders would skip the summit if she wasn’t there, I thought it sounded a bit egotistical. How many of these world leaders have showed in the past because she was there? I think most would attend whether she was there or not. Does she really have that much sway around the world?
+1
As she IS just a figure head, do you think world leaders actually *care* about “what the Queen wants”?? I think there is a caché about meeting “royalty”, but they all know the PM and the Houses make the laws. She just signs as she’s told. I don’t think she’s challenged any laws (other than ones that might involve her spending her own money (ie: green laws on her own personal property in Scotland)).
+1
She challenged also having to follow discrimination and employment laws in the royal household staff also.
The header image is well chosen. Armistice Day is in less than two weeks. I wonder if she will participate in person.
Why doesn’t this woman just retire already and go drink her gin and play with her dogs.
The press and Palace are terrified about what’s going to happen after the Queen dies.
They danged well should be. Charles, then William, and absolutely NO reason to think that George won’t come out just the same as all the rest.
Did she have a moni-stroke in September and then another stroke recently?
She may be having TIAs – mini-strokes – and that usually presages a bigger one. I noticed her wrist was badly bruised in a post a few days ago. That can mean she’s on a blood-thinner as it can cause bad bruising. Time for a regency.
My mom was on blood thinners the final few years of her life which caused bruising on her hands and arms. Her skin was also very fragile and paper thin which didn’t help on top of those meds. So l would speculate as well that the queen is on blood thinners too. She really needs to turn the reins over to Charles full time now.
And where are the calls for the two laziest senior royals to step it up? It is mind blowing to me that they continue to get a pass. (But the reporters are always happy to throw in a jab that this workload is so difficult because Harry and Meghan left.)
My 85 year old aunt still rides horses and it frightens me. The danger is real. I can only imagine what 10 years from now would be like.
TQ definitely had some fall or tripped and hurt herself.
Nobody cares. It’s going to get even more boring with Charles.
She’s not going to get back to full strength. She’s 95. Come on. Get real.
She’s probably only hanging on because of the terminal laziness of the Gruesome Twosome. Bet she’s regretting letting PWT bully her out of the half-in half-out model proposed by Meghan and Harry.
The Lazy Lamebridges don’t want to do anything, but they sure as sh*t didn’t want the Sussexes picking up the slack in that way. The *only* way they wanted them doing things was under the radar so as not to get credit/publicity…unless the LLs could take credit (or at least the majority of it).
When they were first touted as the “Fab Four” on that panel (when Kate was pregnant w/Louis), they both sat there like stumps while Meghan spoke knowledgeably on each question. It was pretty sad for them. I’m sure BB was seething; Kate looked clueless (deer in the headlights) as usual.
I noticed that too at the ‘fab four’ event. It was before the wedding and I think nobody, except Harry, expected it. Kate isn’t able to engage naturally in this kind of public conversation and William looked as if he’d expected to be in control but wasn’t. He was outclassed by both Meghan and Harry and that wasn’t supposed to happen.
What was the panel for? Is it on YouTube?
@Lou – the panel was for Heads Together and introducing Meghan as the fourth member. It is on YouTube. There is an interviewer who leads the discussion and she and Meghan are the only ones who look completely at ease.
Charles is effectively regent and has been doing almost all the Queen’s work for years. There is obviously a strong resistence from some people, including the Queen, to the prospect of an official regency. It would mean a formal declaration that the Queen is no longer capable of fulfilling the duties of the monarchy. The fact is, she isn’t capable and it is time to stop the charade.
Charles is not going to stand aside for William. William is not going to remove himself from the succession and even if he did he cannot remove his children from their places in the line of succession. The same applies to Harry. If both brothers were somehow to take themselves out of the succession it would leave 5 young children in line after Charles. It isn’t going to happen. If Charles as King removes HRH status from Harry’s children it would need parliamentary approval and it would make no difference to the line of succession.
The senior royals and their aides need to accept the reality of a US based branch of the royal family and a prince and princess with an African American grandmother. This means confronting the racism which is at the root of current attitudes.
Charles behaved unwisely regarding Harry and Meghan. This does not bode well for him as his potentially becoming official regent. Charles could have been an agent for change if he reined William in and allowed Meghan and Harry to do part time duties and issued a statement where he condemned the trolling and negativity about Meghan and Harry and worked with the media to give them good PR. SO many missed opportunities. I think his walking her down the aisle was really for his own PR.
Charles has been the Queen’s official regent since he was 21. He has acted as temporary regent several times e.g. when the Queen has been in hospital.
Whatever people might think of the way he has behaved in various situations he represents something that serves to unify the nation. When the time comes he will be supported as Kimg.
If Parliament wants William and his line gone (which they don’t), they could make it happen. They were going to skip Bertie and his two daughters and move on to the third brother with the abdication scandal. That brother’s repeat affairs with married women swayed them back to Bertie. If any of these investigations turn up info that even they cannot condone, they could remove him and his line for reasons.
If William converted to Catholicism and rebaptised his kids, they’d all be out of the line. It could be done quite simply and quickly.
It doesn’t necessarily follow that if William somehow removed himself from the line of succession that his children would also be removed. Becoming Roman Catholic is the quickest way to be removed but in the case of William’s children any decision to convert to Catholicism would be for each child to make. For example Lord Nicholas Windsor, a son of tbe Duke of Kent, converted to the Catholic faith but only two of his three children are Catholic. One child is not Catholic and she remains in the line of succession.
Have to stick in a bit of history here. Had they skipped d Bertie and the girls, the next in line of succession would not have been the glamorous Duke of Kent (with his affairs, homosexuality and drug abuse), but the Duke of Gloucester (essentially dumb and full of alcohol, but respectably married to a nice Scottish girl – the daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch). You are right that some people wanted the Duke of Kent, but since it would have meant skipping over four people in the line of succession it was a nonstarter of an idea.
A bit more history: if the Duke of Gloucester had taken the throne his children would follow him in the line of succession. Elizabeth and Margaret would still be in the line of succession but below the Gloucesters. Assuming fate had taken the same route with the elder son, the current Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, would now be King and his Danish wife Queen Consort.
When I read the headline, I took “gear change” to mean literal gear, as in the next time we see her she’s going to roll up in a golf cart instead of walking.
She’s 95 and recovering from something, of course she wasn’t going to travel 800 miles to an event with attendees from all over during a pandemic.
It’s past time for the RF to go to their bullpen for a relief pitcher. Too bad for them, PC is just one person and if his slimmed down monarchy is going to rely on FFK and Keen to do anything he’s SOL.
Only the finest gold-plated golf cart for Queenie! With little decorative hand cut silk velvet curtains in purple, and bullion fringe. And the seat should have a hand-knotted antique Persian rug.
Towing a similarly done up Corgi trailer.
If you look at the pictures of her legs, even through the pantyhose there are multiple discolorations on them. It has made me wonder for a long time whether she was losing her balance, not surprising for an elderly, overweight woman. Plus losing a long-time partner, puts an individual at risk for demise anywhere from 6 months to 18 months post loss from “broken heart” syndrome.
She is not overweight and has never been overweight. Bruising in old age is common and is a result of thin and fragile skin.
She could also be on blood thinners or a low dose aspirin regiment, as so many elderly are, to prevent heart/stroke issues. That causes bruising in and of itself.
Plus, as anotherlily says, as you age, your skin does become like a well-cooked chicken, tearing and bruising if you even just look at it to hard 😊 (I joke about that with my dad who will be 94 in a few wks).
I can’t believe she was riding horses up until 2 months ago. That makes no sense to me that is something any 95 year old should be doing.
I am several decades younger than the Queen but a minor fall down a few stairs last year has left me with both knee and hip pain if I am doing excessive walking or standing. I’m betting this is what is going on with her. Even a trip down a couple of steps at 95 can mess up your hips and knees and that pain can throw off your balance.
Since when did the Queen become an environmental influencer? Why would countries decide to attend or not based on whether or not Elizabeth II ‘s attends? The palace really must live in its own little world.
tamsin says: The palace really must live in its own little world.
So true! There might be several worlds involved in the Royal Windsor Kingdom.
Rather like a Disney World consisting of
Frontierland – Prince Charles’ with his innovations of land management.
Fantasyland – Prince Andrew hoping to avoid responsibility of his actions.
Tomorrowland – Prince William always becoming ready on a mythical tomorrow.
and now an ocean away there exists
Liberty Square – Prince Harry’s world of freedom!
When the young queen took the throne almost 70 years ago, she was determined to stick to tradition. And she mostly has. The BRF follows ancient rules and has become rigid. With time they were able to act a little bit more “normal” and divorce each other. Otherwise the continued to play by the rules of 1950.
In the past 70 years many new voices have been given authority: people are quite rightly trying to be themselves have as much thought for the BRF as they might have for a discarded washboard: we are glad we can use washing machines; the discarded washboard may be decorative but beyond that it has no real place except in museums.
There is no longer any reason for them to take part in the necessary accommodations people in many parts of the world are making to get rid of images of slave-owners or conquerers of past centuries, colonizer, imperialists. People are fighting against all kinds of inequality and we are seeing the obvious: patriarchal structures are often abusive.
I think it will be worse for Charles with William as his heir apparent. If the QUeen does step aside, William will be pressuring his father to step down and make way for a “younger” family.
He can pressure all he wants. Charles isn’t stepping aside, nor would he risk losing 40% of the private wealth in inheritance taxes. The tax-free deal only works when it goes from one (dead) monarch to the next live one. Plus, Charles can withhold the POW title forever if he feels like it.
Do you think Buckingham Palace will allow The Queen to attend events in a wheelchair? These Royals and their employees (I’m including the Rota) are horribly ableist. Perhaps so? I don’t think so. I wonder what Kaiser thinks.
I also think The Queen’s health is declining rapidly, but her courtiers are hiding that information from not only the press but also Kensington and Clarence House.
I hope she’s still able to make her calls to Harry.
Ditto to everything u said!
They didn’t seem to have much issue with Princess Margaret attending in a wheelchair near the end of her life, but there is always the issue that Queenie has always had different standards applied to her, both stricter and looser.
If it was any Royal other than the Monarch it wouldn’t be an issue, but it is so I don’t think even THEY know if they consider it a problem. They’re panicked about Queenie dying, so they’re going to panic about EVERYTHING even if they don’t really care.
I know we all know that HM has always maintained that she will never step down. But until this point, she was always able bodied and healthy maintaining this position. But now things are changing. Part of me really wonders if, as seems clear, she has had some kind of deterioration and we might see her with a walker soon, or a wheelchair. I truly wonder if she will be ok allowing herself to be seen and photographed using mobility aides. ( I hope she would be – could really normalize the conversation around mobility aides.)
And sorry to discuss this out loud, but what if she does seriously and slowly decline over time, but she’s still “alive”. At that point, one wonders if she might consider stepping down and even being there for his coronation. Could be really powerful. Anyone else ever had this thought, in light of her newer health status?
If the Queen declines to the point where she cannot carry out the essential functions e.g. dealing with state papers,.then a regency can be declared without her consemt. It would
follow an established procedure involving representatives of the Queen’s family, the government and the judiciary along with medical input from the Queen’s doctors.
I think this is where things are heading although the Palace will try to persuade her to voluntarily stand down.
Another line of thought in the ‘what if’ historical musings: – If the succession had been moved to the Duke of Gloucester following the abdication then we would now have a King with a foreign born wife a daughter, ‘Princess Davina’ and two bi-racial grandchildren.