Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that Queen Elizabeth II, 96, is under medical supervision at her summer home in Scotland after physicians expressed worries about the monarch’s health. Members of the royal family flocked to her side.
Following a hectic day of activities on Tuesday, when she formally invited Liz Truss to become prime minister of Britain, the queen postponed a virtual meeting of her Privy Council because her doctors urged her to rest. The palace’s announcement came the next day.
A palace spokeswoman added, speaking on the condition of anonymity in accordance with custom, “Following additional evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have suggested she remain under medical monitoring.” The Queen is still relaxed and in Balmoral.
There were concerning indications that the queen’s illness might be serious, but the palace declined to offer any information. Elizabeth’s condition was brought up during a House of Commons debate by a Cabinet minister, and family members rescheduled long-planned trips to the Highlands.
The queen was at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish vacation home, with Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, his wife Camilla, and Sister Princess Anne. Princes William and Harry, sons of Charles, and other members of the royal family were rumored to be on their way.
Just three months had passed since citizens of Britain halted during a long weekend to commemorate the queen’s 70 years as head of state. This is when the House of Windsor came together. Despite the fact that there were large groups of admirers chanting and waving flags throughout the four days of celebrations, the queen just twice briefly waved to her subjects from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth has increasingly delegated tasks to Charles and other royal family members in recent months as she recovered from a COVID-19 infection, started using a cane, and found it difficult to move around.
The news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime will greatly concern the entire country, Truss wrote on Twitter.
“At this time, the people of our the United Kingdom, including myself, are thinking of Her Majesty The Queen and her family.”
Truss was joined in her worry by political figures from all political parties, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby declared that Elizabeth was in the “prayers of the nation.”
Elizabeth has served as a symbol of stability as Britain navigated the end of the empire, the advent of the information age, and the huge migration that turned the nation into a multicultural society since taking the throne on Feb. 6, 1952, following the death of her father.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth presided over the transfer of authority from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Truss in a sequence of meticulously planned ceremonies rooted in the customs of Britain’s 1,000-year-old monarchy.
Throughout her term, the queen has also created a link with the people of Great Britain through a seemingly unending series of public appearances as she launched libraries, and dedicated hospitals, and conferred accolades on deserving residents.
Deborah Langton, a 67-year-old semi-retired translator, said outside Buckingham Palace, “I have no information of precisely her physical condition, but I have the idea, somehow, we might be being prepped for anything.” And if that’s, you know, the end, that’s going to make a lot of people sad, in my opinion.
Elizabeth famously rejected the idea of abdicating on her 21st birthday and pledged her “whole life” to the service of Britain and the Commonwealth. After at least 10 people were killed in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Wednesday, she released a statement saying: “I mourn with all Canadians at this awful time.”
However, the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, in April of last year served as a stark reminder that the only queen most Britons had ever known had a limited time to rule. The queen was compelled to sit alone, covered beneath a black face mask, as she mourned the loss of the man who had been by her side for more than 70 years during a funeral that could only hold 30 mourners due to pandemic limitations.
That fact served as the undercurrent of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which included pictures of Elizabeth as she changed from a dazzling young queen wearing a crown and diamonds to a sort of global grandma famous for her ubiquitous handbag and love of horses and corgis.
Charles was the center of attention throughout the festivities as he assumed his mother’s role and showed that he was prepared to assume it.
On the first day of the jubilee, he reviewed the troops while participating in the Queen’s Birthday Parade while donning a ceremonial scarlet tunic and bearskin headgear. He sat in the front of the church for a service of gratitude in honor of the queen the following day as the last visitor to enter St. Paul’s Cathedral. He gave the keynote message at a star-studded performance held in front of Buckingham Palace in honor of the woman he referred to as “Your Majesty, Mummy.”
But on Thursday, the BBC switched to constant coverage of the monarch’s illness, firmly focusing the nation’s attention on the queen.
Kristian Ctylok, a 32-year-old Londoner, described the situation as “very terrible.” Given that she has been pretty frail for some time, I believe that half of the country is probably expecting it. But, you know, I believe nobody really anticipated that the day would arrive. Therefore, let’s hope it’s not as horrible as it seems.
