There was some interesting reporting over the weekend about the Queen’s health and mobility. The Queen hasn’t been seen at an event since July 15, and she has not been photographed outdoors whatsoever in Scotland, where she’s been for the past six weeks or so. She hasn’t even been seen at church. Reportedly, Prince Charles has made a point of visiting the Queen every day at Balmoral, and Prince Andrew has been staying in the Balmoral big house this entire time. This coming weekend, the Queen was supposed to attend the Braemar Games. Next week, she’s supposed to meet the new prime minister. It looks likely that she won’t be able to do either of those events.
The Queen is ‘carefully considering’ whether she is fit enough to attend the Braemar Games next weekend as concerns grow over her mobility issues, The Mail on Sunday understands. The Highland Games, which are often attended by the Queen and the Prime Minister of the day, are usually a highlight in the monarch’s calendar. This year’s competition – which will see contestants battle it out in caber-tossing and tug-of-war in front of spectators – is the first to be held since the start of the pandemic.
A source revealed last night that the Queen is keen to attend if her health will allow it. She was last seen in public on July 21, when she flew to Aberdeen Airport to begin her annual holiday at Balmoral.
The source added that in the past fortnight, Her Majesty has been delighted to receive ‘family visitors’ at her Scottish estate with ‘lots of the great-grandchildren’. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte headed up last week, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children Lady Louise and Viscount James have also been to visit.
Another source added that there had been ‘a change in the past few weeks’ in the Queen’s mobility, which meant that she was ‘resting’ a lot more.
The 96-year-old is likely to concede that she will no longer be able to fly down to London to appoint a new Prime Minister. It had been hoped the Queen would head to Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace to fulfil what is known as her ‘personal prerogative’ – to invite a new leader to form a government. But her health on recent days ‘may make it unlikely’, according to a well-placed source. The decision will be announced this week.
The nine-mile trip to Braemar for next weekend’s games, however, may yet be possible.
I mean, they’ve used this kind of carefully gloomy language about the Queen’s health before and then she’s turned up to events with a cane and a smile. So I don’t know. I do think this is notable though: “Another source added that there had been ‘a change in the past few weeks’ in the Queen’s mobility, which meant that she was ‘resting’ a lot more.” I’ve believed for much of the past year that the Queen has been falling. I think she’s had a few really bad falls, falls which have scared the crap out of the people around her. I think there are mobility problems but there’s something going on with her balance, her hips and her physical strength. It will be interesting to see if she skips the Braemar Games completely.
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Maybe it’s just me? But it’s what they’re NOT saying that makes me think the end is rapidly approaching.
I have a cat who was 18 May 1st, and any deviation from his normal routine gets extra attention from me. I’m thinking it’s probably the same for the Queen. At her age I imagine every complaint or ailment is a cause for excess worry. Not saying she isn’t infirm, but it might just be an overabundance of caution.
The end is definitely near and frankly I think it’s incredibly rude the way the Queen is overshadowing Meghan’s revenge rise.
Seriously tho, once she kicks it the press will have a whole lot more important things to focus on bc the transition is going to be a shit show lol.
Y’all ain’t even seen a horribilis annus yet 😂
LOL. Evil and funny.
LMAO!!!!
@ Bananarama, BRAVA 👏👏👏👏👏
I’m still hoping she gets to beat Louis XIV, but I’m not holding my breath.
They consistently want to put out pictures and video of her standing. Why not just let the woman sit to greet people? If she feels the standing maintains her dignity and she’s too special for a wheelchair, sit on a throne to prove her “superiority”. I’m sure she has many. C&C can go watch the games. It will give him a chance to wear his kilt. Nice that the family visits. Wonder if they can only see her for 15 minutes.
And no pictures.
His kilt is gorgeous though – I’m n Scotland and you see some horrors but his is whatever the Savile Row is in highland dress.
This bloody minded insistence on maintaining appearances is nuts. They should just give her a fancy mobility scooter and let her hot rod around the place.
This is a big deal for them to say this – she almost never misses the games and she has been missing a lot of big events, events that normally she would be all over.
This happened with Phil, TBH I will be surprised if she returns to London or Windsor at all – Balmoral is remote and well protected to its the best place for her to hide out in.
I don’t think she will make it to Christmas – I also think Chuck will meet the new PM in her stead.
So the new PM gets to kiss Chucky’s hand? Yuck.
Whether or not Anne makes the trip will be the real signal that it’s something serious.
Andrew and Charles both have selfish powerplay reasons to be there now, but if her life truly hangs in the balance, Anne will be there too.
Good point Molly. And to add: If Harry shows up (and especially if Meghan and the kids are with) then things must be dire indeed. I just don’t see Harry stopping by otherwise if there is a chance Charles and or William will be there too.
The PM will travel to meet her. One of the few specific constitutional duties she has is meeting with the PM so unless there is a regency in place, no one else can be substituted for this task. Even Charles can’t be subbed in.
Used all her strength to make it to and through the Jubbly. Not a ton left for her to look forward to.
The woman is 95. Monarchs are human. They age and have health problems and aren’t immortal. Why can’t TQ just accept that and use the darned wheelchair?
I realize it might be worse than that, but she has been known to be very weird about that. She gave her poor sister a hard time for using one when she was ill.
I’ve heard that TQ sees physical frailty as weakness, so she never liked the fact that Margaret was seen in public in a wheelchair (tho of course those are just stories I’ve heard.)
At 95 I think she’d be perfectly in her rights to use a walker or a wheelchair, but people can be stubborn af lol. For example my mom is in her 70’s and could probably benefit from a hearing aid but I’d bet she’d cut off her own ear rather than get one, because they’re for ‘old people’. I can’t imagine what kind of ego would be in play if she was a queen too!
Betty is 96 years and 4 months. Not 95.
Because at the end of the day even in sickness they still have to be horrible people and be ableist as well.
I bet with all the prejudices they have against disabilities, Diana and then Harry’s major focus on work with the sick and disabled must really have gotten and get under their skin.
I don’t think she’s going to see the end of 2023 tbh
I don’t know why she insists on walking as opposed to using a wheelchair but whatever. Personally, I think she has lived a full life, 96 years is no joke. I believe and it’s time for her majesty to literally rest in peace, but that’s just me🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️
You know, after reading the article about the how the palace covered up how close Archie came to be hurt, & a good possibility he would have died from smoke inhalation, I find I don’t give a hoot about how the queen is feeling or doing.
I also think Harry has some blinders when it comes to his grandmother.
She’s complicit. He’s aid he thinks she gets bad advice but really, she’s always been who she is. She was ok with how Diana was treated, & she is ok with how Meghan is treated. I guess he needs to cling to the thought that someone cares.
But, it’s not her.
Totally agree. They wouldn’t even acknowledge Diana’s death in church the morning after she died, on her orders. Harry even questioned whether it was really true since they didn’t mention her during church. She actually ignored the whole thing for a week til there were practically riots in London. They claimed they were protecting the boys, but I think they were actually jealous of the palatable grief people were having over her death.
Agree with you both. I hope nothing happens to her until Meghan finished her series.
She’s been in a steep decline for a while now. She has lost SO much weight. And I agree that she has probably had several nasty falls. She has probably held on for this long to get to her Jubilee. Now that it’s over, it might be one last summer at her beloved Balmoral.
I too don’t think she’s going to make it to the end of 2022.
I think the jubilee was kind of her…..”I just need to get through this”….event and now she’s kind of crashing, in a way, mentally and physically. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stays at Balmoral for another month and then goes straight to Sandringham and passes peacefully before the end of the year.
I think you’re exactly right.
I hope Harry and Meghan Pop in to see her, I reckon she probably has long Covid. I had issues with vertigo after my bout of Covid. I hope she makes it to the end of the year. Already the Meghan bashing has started, she’s doing this while the Queen is Ill , I’ve seen a couple of those comments pop up on Twitter over the last week .
If the Queen’s being kept in Scotland, Harry and Meghan are not going to get a chance to see her and I think BP will do all they can to prevent them from meeting.
Lili, they’re going to use TQ no matter what. If she’s still kicking then H will be accused of hastening her death. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but if she has been resting more and not walking, she would find it difficult to walk. I suppose physical therapy would help, but it really depends on why she’s resting so much.
I have no idea how TQ thinks, but she only has two choices. To be seen by her “subjects” or b hidden away. For some reason, I think she wouldn’t want to be hidden away. Is it possible Chuck is keeping her hidden away?
I am once again asking what the point of the BRF is if they can’t fulfill the most basic of their duties?
My prediction is that she’ll stay at Balmoral until the weather changes (so not much longer), and then she’ll be moved directly to Sandringham for her final days. The last several monarchs have died at Sandringham and QEII is so hide-bound by tradition that she’ll want the same for herself.
Falls and covid. Not an easy combination. I wish her well. I don’t think she has been involved in making decisions about anything for many months.
The Queen’s the head of state there shouldn’t be any secrecy around her health. The public has a right to know what’s going on with her.
As well as physical issues, she may very well be showing signs of cognitive decline and spells of dementia. In my mother’s last year of life (92 years old) she became increasingly confused, sometimes REALLY bitchy, and had these sort of “fantasy” moments unconnected to reality. I too don’t think she’ll make it to the end of the year. Charles is now operating as regent despite there being no official announcement, and I doubt there will be one until she passes.
The Queen is now over 96 years old. The last year would have been challenging for even a healthy person half her age. She lost Phillip, her husband of 70 years; she’s battled COVID; she’s had several falls and her favorite son, Andy is a disgraced pedophile! The Queen is literally shrinking in front of our eyes. She’s lost a great deal of weight and is hunched over and her ankles are often swollen — a sign of poor circulation. And these are just the issues we KNOW about.
Like everyone else, I suspect there’s more going on behind closed doors but the courtiers, the gray suits and the BRF won’t utter a word until the very end. And whenever that happens, I hope she goes peacefully.
I think the end is very near actually, closer than we realize. Not just the end of 2022, I think she won’t make it to the end of September. She’s the Queen, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were in a hospital bed with a round the clock medical team at this point at Balmoral. This would explain why she wouldn’t have any outside visitors like the new Prime Minister, they would never allow her to be seen in a hospital bed/weakened state. I realize Philip stayed in the hospital for weeks on end in London before his death, but he also wasn’t the monarch so information around his health was not as important as the Queen’s.
I also think Harry and Meghan will probably make a pit stop at Balmoral during their upcoming trip to the UK. If her health has declined that much, Harry will want to see her. It might not be confirmed until after he leaves but I think he will stop by.
I think you’re spot on, on every point. These signals from the royal camp are to prepare us for her imminent departure. G*d help us all for what follows.
I expect I’ll react to the Queen’s eventual passing as the Queen did to Diana’s.
Ouch! Hahaha!
Works for me.
Okay, I’ve volunteered at senior homes for 30+ years now and my problem is with the queen falling in her home. People her age aren’t usually given the opportunity to have ‘several falls’ while in the home. Usually after the first bad fall and absolutely after the second fall, medical orders take precedence over the patient’s wishes, at least with mobility issues. To be fair, it usually only takes one fall for the senior in question to see the benefits of aided walking. She shouldn’t have fallen at all, never mind several times, and if she’s prone to falling while upright, where the hell is her nurse or aide?