As great as the expectations are, so great is the disappointment: after being absent from public appearances for almost a whole month under the direction of her doctors, everyone eagerly awaited the presence of Queen Elizabeth of England at the British War Martyrs’ Memorial Service held Sunday in central London. Whoever represented the royal house was the regent, Prince Charles.
Even Buckingham Palace explicitly confirmed its presence on Saturday, but today, just hours before the event began, the announcement came: “The Queen has dislocated her back and will be forced to be absent from the state event.”
This is an annual ceremony that takes place every Sunday of the second week in November. National Remembrance Day is celebrated all over the kingdom in many ceremonies, which also include two minutes of silence. For the Queen – who experienced World War II as a girl, and now serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces – it was important to be present at the main ceremony, especially in light of last year’s harsh restrictions on the format of ceremonies because of the corona.
The laconic announcement said that this time too her absence was related to her health, and even stated the explicit reason: “The queen, who sprained her back, decided this morning with great sorrow that she will not be able to attend the annual memorial service at the monument. Her Majesty is disappointed to miss the event.”
This is the third public event the Queen has recently canceled. As you may recall, last month she canceled her visit to Northern Ireland hours before it was due to take place, and about two weeks ago announced with great sorrow that she would be forced to attend the Great Climate Conference in Glasgow, where she was to host dozens of world leaders.
Shortly afterwards, her doctors ordered her to take a two-week “sick leave” and focus only on “work that could be done from the table” as a precaution, and even hospitalized her overnight for tests. During these two weeks, she continued to do her job – such as, for example, zoom meetings with ambassadors and ministers – but significantly reduced her scope.
It should be noted that unlike previous posts, this time it was not written that her absence was accepted “on the advice of her doctors”. Be that as it may, the Sky News network reported yesterday that her doctors’ recommendation to rest about two weeks ago is not related to a sprain, and it is estimated that it may have occurred recently. According to the report, there was “tremendous anticipation” ahead of the 95-year-old queen’s planned public appearance.
Queen Elizabeth has already broken all the records of her predecessors for the British crown – this coming February she is expected to complete 70 years on the throne – and it can be cautiously estimated that her absence from the ceremony was due to her or her surroundings fearing the trip, as well as standing for hours In her back and maybe even intensify the speculations around her. Remember, recently she started using an occasional walking stick, for the first time in 17 years.
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