Queen cancels Northern Ireland trip due to medical advice

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Queen Elizabeth II, 95, has had an extremely busy few weeks since getting back to royal duty after her summer break. Last week the monarch sparked health fears after she was seen using a walking stick “for comfort” during an outing to Westminster Abbey. While the Palace has been quick to shut down concerns for the Queen’s wellbeing the cancellation of her upcoming visit to Northern Ireland is a stark reminder of her advancing age. On Wednesday the Palace confirmed the Queen’s two-day visit to Northern Ireland had been called off after she was instructed to rest by doctors.

Buckingham Palace said that Her Majesty had “reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days.”

Reacting to the news, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “This cancellation will be of great regret to the Queen, who intensely dislikes disappointing people.

“It is worth emphasising the statement from the Palace is upbeat and that there is no link to Covid. It should just be precautionary.”

The Palace relayed that although the Queen was “disappointed” with the cancellation, she nonetheless remained in “good spirits.”

However, it is understood that the Queen will still attend the climate change conference, COP26, in Glasgow next month.

Mr Fitzwilliams explained: “The need to rest could also be linked to Cop26, because it is so pivotal and because the Queen’s presence will add a special cachet to it.”

“She has been increasing her activities recently and opened the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, as she is so important as a symbol of national unity.”

Her Majesty visited Cardiff to open the Senedd last week, and was joined by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.  Earlier this month, the Queen spoke of her “deep affection” for Scotland as she officially kicked off the new term for the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

Just this week, the Queen has attended and hosted numerous events, most recently a Global Investment Summit from her home at Windsor on Tuesday evening.

Also on Tuesday, she spoke with the Japanese ambassador, Hajime Hayashi, and EU ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida.

The previous day, she greeted New Zealand’s governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro via Zoom, who is the first indigenous woman to hold the position.

The Queen endearingly exclaimed, “Ah, there you are!” as Dame Kiro appeared on Her Majesty’s screen.

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Over the weekend, the Queen was also seen enjoying the races at Ascot.

However, despite her jam-packed schedule of royal engagements, she appears to be leaning on younger members of the Firm more than ever since the death of her beloved husband in April.

While the Queen was pictured using a walking aid for the first time in decades when she attended a service for the centenary of the Royal British Legion in Westminster Abbey last week she was subsequently photographed standing unaided when presenting Her Majesty’s Medal for Music to Dame Imogen Cooper the following day.

This was followed by a reappearance of the walking aid when she visited Wales with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Mr Fitzwilliams noted her recent use of the walking stick, saying: “Her commitments have been carefully balanced for some years with no long-haul flights since late 2015.

“This is nonetheless a sign that the rest of the Royal Family, who support the Queen so ably, will have to do even more in the coming weeks and months.”

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, 39, and Prince William hosted a private event to thank donors who gave towards a bronze memorial statue of Princess Diana which was unveiled at Kensington Palace in the summer.

Earlier in the day, Kate had made an earnest keynote speech on the struggles of addiction at a campaign event for the Forward Trust, of which she is patron.

She joined Prince William, 39, for the inaugural Earthshot Awards on Sunday, a climate-change initiative spearheaded by the Duke of Cambridge awarding £1 million to each of the five winners presenting innovative solutions to climate change.

Prince William’s high-profile eco-campaign came alongside Prince Charles’s interview with the BBC, in which he expressed sympathy for those individuals worried about global warming and reiterated his long-held support for addressing climate change issues.

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