Elizabeth II will not attend the garden parties organized this summer in her palace, her services announced on Thursday, the 96-year-old monarch being increasingly replaced due to difficulties in getting around.
Elizabeth II will not attend the garden parties organized this summer in her palace, her services announced on Thursday, the 96-year-old monarch being increasingly replaced due to difficulties in getting around.
An event on the royal calendar, these receptions are held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, London, and one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. They will be held from next week, for the first time in three years due to the pandemic.
But this year, the Queen will not be honoring her guests, usually people who have served their country or their communities.
“Her Majesty The Queen will be represented by other members of the Royal Family at this year’s garden parties,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, adding that further details will be provided “in due course.”
Rare appearances
Last week, the queen appeared in good shape, displaying a broad smile and posing without a cane, when she received the Swiss president at Windsor Castle, reassuring images of her state of health.
KEYSTONE
Since a brief hospitalization in October, Elizabeth II’s appearances have become extremely rare, although she continues to take on “light duties”, mostly by videoconference.
On March 29, she attended a religious ceremony at Westminster Abbey in honor of her husband Prince Philip, who died last year. It was his first major public appearance in months.
According to Buckingham Palace, the sovereign hopes to be able to attend the opening ceremony of the British Parliament on Tuesday, an annual meeting she has only missed twice in her 70-year reign.
To celebrate its platinum jubilee, four days of celebrations are planned in the UK from June 2-5.
AFP
