Queen Elizabeth advised to rest for next two weeks, cancels upcoming schedule
Queen Elizabeth II is taking it easy at Windsor Castle for the next two weeks under doctors' orders, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.
"Following on from their recent advice that The Queen should rest for a few days, Her Majesty’s doctors have advised that she should continue to rest for at least the next two weeks," the palace statement said.
She has the OK to continue "light, desk-based duties," meaning she will continue to go through her red leather boxes of government documents sent to her daily no matter where she is.
She also can continue to carry out virtual audiences with incoming ambassadors and others of note, according to the statement obtained by USA TODAY.
The news on Friday comes after the queen spent a night in the hospital for unspecified "preliminary investigations" last week, and after she "regretfully" canceled two other much-anticipated in-person appearance on doctors' orders, according to palace statements.
Following a busy period of engagements, including hundreds of miles of travel within the United Kingdom, the palace announced she would forgo a two-day trip to Northern Ireland in order to rest.
Then, after the one-night hospital stay was confirmed, the palace said this week the monarch would not attend in person a reception for world leaders gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, next week for the COP26 United Nations climate-change conference. Instead, she will address the gathering via pre-recorded video.
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla and Prince William and Duchess Kate will now host the reception on Monday evening, according to the palace schedule for the royals' participation in the conference.
Friday's new prescription means the 95-year-old monarch will have to miss one of the most important memorial events on her annual schedule – but not all of it.
"Her Majesty regrets that this means she will be unable to attend the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday, 13th November," the statement said.
"However, it remains The Queen’s firm intention to be present for the National Service of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday, on 14th November."
The Remembrance wreath-laying ceremony in London is sacred for the royal family and especially the queen, who's one of the few remaining Britons who lived through World War II and all its horrors.
Remembrance Sunday, on the second Sunday of November, commemorates British and Commonwealth service members who have died in wars and other military conflicts since the start of World War I.
The Festival of Remembrance, which takes place at Royal Albert Hall in London, is the commemoration held the Saturday night before and hosted by the Royal British Legion to honor those who have served and sacrificed for Britain and the Commonwealth.
The queen and other senior members of the royal family always attend the weekend events, which this year mark the 100th anniversary of the Remembrance commemoration.
The queen, who has been living mostly at Windsor Castle since the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic, has long enjoyed robust health, and has been fully vaccinated. The palace has said the latest health bulletins are not related to COVID-19.
But after the April death of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, she has made some concessions to age, including using a walking stick at some public engagements.
