There is, according to reports, a ‘military-style’ operation underway at Buckingham Palace to keep the Queen out of view from the watching eyes of the world’s press while travelling to Prince Phillip’s memorial service on 29 March.

Under the plans, Her Majesty, 95, is expected to be flown 15 minutes by helicopter from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace, before being driven the short distance from the Palace to Westminster Abbey. 

The entire Dean’s Yard outside the Abbey is set to be sealed off, using six-foot privacy screens and even a football-style tunnel that would block any photographer’s view as she exits her vehicle.

You might assume this excessive privacy is down to the fact that the monarch is still grieving the loss of her husband of 73 years. 

But you would be wrong – the reason behind this cloak and dagger approach is that the Queen is believed to increasingly need a wheelchair to get around.

Her Majesty’s diary is being redrawn to adapt to the ageing monarch’s needs, which is understandable – she is almost 96 after all. 

However, what is deeply disappointing to me is the sense of secrecy, and even shame there seems to be around the Queen being visible in a wheelchair.

Appearances that require her to stand for extended spells or walk any kind of distance have been cancelled, with the Queen herself admitting to a pair of military visitors to Windsor Castle last month: ‘As you can see, I can’t move’. 

Of course, I wouldn’t want to make an old lady stand for a long time or walk far either, but that’s why we have mobility aids.

I don’t think it would be the end of the world for the Palace – and the Queen herself –  to admit that she needs to use them and be seen in public with them.

When I heard about the great lengths the royals were going to in order to hide the Queen’s access needs, and the description of her situation, I was incredibly upset.

As a disability activist, I fight for the rights of disabled people to be visibly disabled and help give those who feel unable to speak out about injustice a voice. 

It’s a cause I will never stop speaking up about.

On morning TV yesterday, entertainer Christopher Biggins seemed to confirm the suspicions, saying: ‘I have heard that the reason she’s not doing a lot of the events that she should be doing and cancelling them is because she is in a wheelchair.’

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He went on to reminisce about the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, being photographed in a wheelchair towards the end of her life, an event he described as ‘awfully embarrassing’ for the monarch.

The panto regular described the situation as ‘very sad’ as the Queen is ‘very proud’.

Nobody should feel such internalised ableism that they are actively doing more work and causing themselves stress just in order to not be seen with tools that make their lives easier.

Imagine being the head of state in 15 countries worldwide but feeling unable to be truly honest about the needs you have as someone who requires help to move.

Disability has long been viewed as a weakness – if you admit that you need help then to some people that means admitting defeat and being unfit to lead. 

Views like that might feel outdated to many but sadly they still prevail today – let’s not forget how Donald Trump used Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton’s health against them.

In a time where disabled people are still called ‘the vulnerable’ during a pandemic, is it any wonder that even the Queen is unduly worried about what people will think of her?

Despite there being 14.1million disabled people in the UK, we are still underrepresented in the media. 

Far too often when stories of disabled people are told they focus on only extremes of heartwarming inspirational tales like ‘deaf baby hears for first time’ or trauma driven narratives like ‘disabled woman starves to death’.

Disabled people often feel that we aren’t allowed to tell our everyday stories of love, life and everything in between to offer some balance to the way we’re currently portrayed. 

We have our agency robbed from us and it can feel like we aren’t allowed to feel our feelings about our disabilities – both the successes and injustices we face. 

So it’s dispiriting that one of the most well-known voices in the world may be willingly hiding away because she is scared of being seen as disabled.

She is almost 96 years old; no one expects her to keep on at the same pace as she did in her youth. By hiding, she is only adding to the stigma surrounding wheelchairs and old age. 

Having a public figure who has as much power and influence as her in a mobility aid may make the world become a little more accessible; it may make nondisabled people see that disabled people aren’t powerless and that we are worthy of being listened to.

Because whether you are disabled or not, an unknown person or the Queen of a country, that’s something everyone deserves.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]. 

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