Queen's health: Host says monarch is 'tough as nails'

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Despite her advanced age, the Queen is known to have been very physically active until recent months. Even during the first national lockdown, the sovereign enjoyed one of her most beloved hobbies, horse-riding, in the Windsor estate.

Moreover, when in Balmoral – her Scottish estate she last visited last summer – Her Majesty normally goes on walks with her family and loved ones.

However, in recent months, the Queen was advised by her doctors to slow down and rest for a period of time.

The reduced activity, also forced by the pandemic and self-isolation, has an impact on the sovereign, who used to use physical activities to “cope” with arising issues, one royal historian has claimed.

Historian Amanda Foreman, author of Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace, told People magazine: “In the past, one of the things that’s always been a way for her to cope is to be physically active.

“And with that being curtailed, it makes it especially hard.”

The monarchy has recently been hit by a number of concerns in recent times, including the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as senior royals, the civil lawsuit – which has been settled out of court earlier this month – launched last summer against Prince Andrew by Virginia Giuffre, and an investigation opened by the Met Police following cash-for-honours allegations related to Prince Charles’s charity The Prince’s Foundation.

Moreover, in April last year the monarch lost her most trusted advisor and husband of more than 70 years, as Prince Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle.

The Queen first sparked health concerns on October 20, when Buckingham Palace announced she was cancelling her planned trip to Northern Ireland to rest for a period of time in the wake of her doctors’ advice.

She hasn’t carried out any royal engagements outside of palace walls since.

However, the Queen has kept herself at work by undertaking her daily duties as a sovereign including dealing with the Government’s red boxes.

Moreover, she has met a number of foreign diplomats and representatives both in person and via video link.

On February 5, the day before the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, she hosted a reception for local charities at Sandringham House during her brief stay in Norfolk.

While she used a light walking stick to move around the room and speak to guests, Her Majesty was described to be on sparkling form.

Concerns for her mobility returned after the sovereign quipped, during an in-person audience at Windsor Castle, she was struggling to move.

Meeting the outgoing Defence Services Secretary, Rear Admiral James Macleod, and his successor Major General Eldon Millar, the Queen quipped after being asked how she was: “Well, as you can see, I can’t move”.

Following this duty, Reuters reported a palace source saying “the Queen had been feeling slightly stiff, rather than having injured herself or being unwell” in relation to her apparent mobility issue.

On Sunday, Buckingham Palace announced the monarch was suffering from a mild bout of Covid but intended to keep up with her work.

The sovereign was well enough to sign off two statements between Sunday and Monday.

However, on Tuesday morning, the palace announced the monarch had cancelled the planned virtual audiences as she continued to experience mild cold-like symptoms.

A brief statement read: “As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties.”

The palace added: “Further engagements to be decided in due course.”

Among the duties the monarch is expected to carry out this week there is her regular audience with the Prime Minister.

This normally takes place on Wednesdays and, since the beginning of the pandemic, has been carried out mostly over the phone.

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