In the months following Prince Philip’s death last year, Queen Elizabeth seemed pretty energetic. She was watching horse trials and meeting with world leaders at the G7 summit and she was seen out a lot. Then it all went to hell last October, when the Queen had some kind of medical situation which left her hospitalized overnight, and left the Palace incapable of giving one straight answer for what was going on with the head of state. Since then, the Queen has obviously had a much lighter schedule, even though it’s clear her staff continue to press her to do more. Now I feel really bad, because chances are, the Queen is going to miss all of her favorite activities during her favorite part of the year: garden party season.
Queen Elizabeth will miss one of the royal highlights of the spring. Buckingham Palace announced that garden parties will return this month after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the 96-year-old monarch will not attend the events. She will be represented by other members of the royal family instead.
Three events will take place at Buckingham Palace in May — on the 11th, 18th and 25th — with a fourth garden party being held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 29. The Queen has also given permission for The Not Forgotten Association Annual Garden Party to be hosted by Princess Anne, the charity’s Patron, in the Buckingham Palace gardens on May 12.
Garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860s as a way for the monarch to recognize public service. Around 30,000 people — dressed to the nines, with men in morning suits and top hats and women in whimsical fascinators — attend the events, which celebrate all areas of public life and British society. In addition to mingling with members of the royal family, guests are treated to tea and cake. (According to the royal family’s website, around 27,000 cups of tea are served and 20,000 slices of cakes are consumed!)
The Queen loves garden parties. She loves this time of year, when garden party szn transitions to Ascot szn and Hot Horse Summers. The Queen will likely miss all of that. And I have to ask this again… why not change the rules? Why not change up the season, in what will likely be one of the Queen’s last garden party seasons? There’s nothing that says that the Queen can’t rip around the Windsor Castle gardens in a mobility scooter in a newly established Windsor garden party. There’s also nothing that says that they can’t change up some of the Jubbly stuff to take place at Windsor too. Ugh. They won’t. Because they lack imagination.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Queen Elizabeth II during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 530596469, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 530596532, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- EMBARGOED TO 2200 WEDNESDAY JUNE 9 Queen Elizabeth II in the gardens of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, where she received a Duke of Edinburgh rose, given to her by the Royal Horticultural Society. The newly bred deep pink commemorative rose from Harkness Roses has officially been named in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh. A royalty from the sale of each rose will go to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Living Legacy Fund which will give more young people the opportunity to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Picture date: Wednesday June 2, 2021. The Duke, who died in April this year, would have celebrated his 100th birthday on June 10th.,Image: 615053148, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II during an audience with President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle. Picture date: Thursday April 28, 2022.,Image: 686853114, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II during an audience with President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle. Picture date: Thursday April 28, 2022.,Image: 686853124, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II during an audience with President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle. Picture date: Thursday April 28, 2022.,Image: 686853133, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II attending the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London.
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- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attending the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London.
They should just cancel all the events where people go specifically for her.
“The Queen loves garden parties. She loves this time of year, when garden party szn transitions to Ascot szn and Hot Horse Summers.” – Excellent writing Kaiser
Yes @ Kaiser!! Very well written and to the point. Their inability to allow the Queen the dignity of attending is blatantly obvious. Harry was rightly concerned about those around her. She isn’t being represented as she should be, whether it’s her wishes or their blatant desire for her not to be seen as “less than” excellent health.
I actually *do* think it’s Liz who doesn’t want to attend. Hear me out: This is a woman who was AGHAST AND ASHAMED that her sister was seen in a wheelchair after a stroke. That will make her appear weak or “sickly”. She won’t use a walker, as much as that would benefit her balance issues, carries a useless cane which she really only holds and “taps”, and is basically *only* seen standing still in every vid. of every meeting she’s in now.
SHE is the one refusing to be seen as “less than”, eve if that image/notion is in her mind only.
As posters here have said, this would be the *perfect* opportunity for inclusion of her “subjects” who are using wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers. Think of it….have you ever seen ANYONE at these parties using these appliances?? I haven’t. EVERYONE is standing.
There also isn’t any reason Lizzie can’t be *already seated* at a table, chair area whatever, up by house doors where she enters the garden from and have people come up and meet her. I guess they’re thinking the only problem with that is these events go on for a few hours, and they won’t be able to get her out of there on her own feet?
Yeah, we know she won’t. By announcing her not attending an event every other day is unnecessary. We were already told that she would attend very few events from now on, and even those will be decided on the day before and no sooner.
Maybe it’s Liz who doesn’t want things changed, or Charles if he really is the one in charge. Perhaps he wants people to get used to seeing him more in his mother’s position.
I’ll be extremely concerned for her health if she doesn’t go to the horse races this summer. She loves watching her horses race more than anything on earth other than dorgies, maybe. If she misses that, I’m going to assume she’s passed and the vipers nest are just CGI’ing their way through a Weekend at Bernie’s situation.
when I see all of this, I can only laugh at the uselessness of it all……..
VS, I agree. I was just thinking that I’d not feel thanked for public service by attending a party with thousands of other people in the heat while wearing a nice dress and sweating, and only being offered tea and cake. Ugh. No thanks.
That is quite an insult isn’t it @ Roo! To spend hours in the hot sun only to be served tea and cake. My gawd, they can afford to splurge surely.
I’ve been to one tea party, and I have to admit, it’s quite opulent. It’s not just like a piece of cake – there’s so much food and snacks: cakes, sugary pies, macarons, scones … and tea and also champagne. After that party I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. I can only imagine how much food and drink is at the parties in the palace
I’m curious about what these parties actually accomplish. Does the charity benefit in some way? Does this recognize regular charity workers who have to go out and purchase morning suits and fancy dresses or is it for the higher up, rich people who work in charities to hobnob? Is there a dress code because it sounds like it?
I seriously wonder if this could all be solved with the use of a wheelchair. If she could be pushed in order to not exert herself, I imagine she would be able to get out a little and see some of it. I can’t believe they’re that shallow–or whatever their issue with it is–that she’d/they’d rather her miss all her favorite events, when it could definitely be her last, then be seen getting some assistance in a wheelchair. The woman is 96, good God, give her a break.
What’s really ridiculous is they’ve discussed her super fancy golf cart. There’s no reason she couldn’t do a little spin of the grounds and a couple minutes to thank the crowd. No wheelchair required.
That’s what I wonder, too. It could be that she is dizzy or unwell or confused and literally can’t make it, but if it’s mobility… just find a Victorian wheelchair and she’s off to the races (literally!).
I don’t understand why she doesn’t step down. I mean, I know why – because she believes this role/job/position is yours until you breath your last breath – but man, just step aside and enjoy what remains of your life without all this shit, Liz. Just live out your days at Sandringham or Norfolk or one of those secluded castles you love.
My prediction is she’ll die this year. But her mother lived past 100 so who knows. 🤷🏼♀️
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands did it the best way. She stepped down after years on the throne and basically retired. She’s now enjoying her downtime with her granddaughters and gets the pleasure of seeing how well her son has taken his king role and gets to see her own monarchy carrying on well without her. Then again, that might be why Liz wants to stick around till her last breath. She knows once she kicks, the Windsors are going to implode and she can’t bare to watch.
That’s a wonderful speculation. It’s not so much Charles, it’s Baldimort and CopyKeen that have given her the greatest insight as to how utterly he is unprepared and how completely lazy and indifferent he is to role that he was born into. Having to take him by the hand, literally, to try and teach him how to perform a Charm choo-choo tour that he spectacularly failed at, at his age no less, was a glaring indication that the Monarchy will die with him. Baldimort is and will be an incompetent and useless king. Hell, he can’t even perform his lackluster duties now at nearly 40. What chance in hell he will buckle up and do his fucking job?
If the Queen really wanted to be there she’d use a wheelchair.
I love a garden party. As Ricky Nelson might say, the queen should please herself.
Everyone knows she’s on the way out, it’s just a question of how long she has. No way she’s the type to abdicate though. I bear her no ill will (honestly) but I’m against monarchy so I look forward to Commonwealth countries, including my own, cutting the apron strings, which most won’t do until she’s dead.
I think I understand why Harry asked Betty is she has the right people by her side and I think she does not!
All her staff, assistants rr etc and not there to protect or serve her – they’re there to protect and serve the CROWN. So nobody cares what Betty thinks or how she feels.
They need to show the CROWN as strong and powerful and not as frail or weak and old like she is at the moment.
I finally understand it now.
I still think it’s because she is in some stage of dementia. They don’t know how lucid she will be on any given day, or what bizarre things she might say or do.
The issue is not mobility alone, where a wheelchair would be the obvious solution. Our brains age along with our bodies, and she could be showing signs of some cognitive decline, which the RF would not want seen in public. Memory loss, social anxiety, restlessness, nodding off at random times, occasional inappropriate responses to comments, irritability are just some of those things that a person of 96 could experience. I lived through this with my 96 year old mom. She could put on a good show of lucidity for a few moments for the pastor or doctor but was unable to sustain it for long. Perhaps they are protecting her privacy as well as the public perception of the monarchy. Maybe this is what has concerned Harry. Is enough being done?