Queen Elizabeth will not attend Friday’s thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace confirmed. Just hours after the 96-year-old monarch attended the Trooping the Colour parade Thursday, the first events of the ongoing Platinum Jubilee celebrations, a spokesperson confirmed that the Queen will no longer attend Friday’s services due to “discomfort.” Her son, Prince Andrew, will also miss the service after he tested positive for COVID-19, it was earlier confirmed.
“The Queen greatly enjoyed today’s Birthday Parade and Flypast but did experience some discomfort,” a representative for the monarch, who marks 70 years on the throne this year, confirmed, said in a statement, per royal correspondent Omid Scobie. “Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s [service] Her Majesty with great reluctance has concluded that she will not attend.”
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The statement went on to explain that the Queen will not be at St Paul’s Cathedral Friday morning. However, the royal spokesperson said the monarch is looking forward to participating in tonight’s Beacon lighting event at Windsor Castle and would like to thank all those who made today such a memorable occasion.” A royal source added that the Queen experienced mobility issues throughout the day, during which she and other members of the royal family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. As such, her decision not to attend the thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral is a “sensible decision based on the journey, length of time involved and the physical demands a service at St Paul’s inevitably involve.”
The full extent in the Queen’s public involvement in the multi-day Jubilee celebrations had largely been up in the air due to her known mobility issues. It had been announced days prior to the Trooping the Colour that her son Prince Charles, daughter Princess Anne, and grandson Prince William would receive the royal salute in the Queen’s place, marking the first time Her Majesty has not carried out a symbolic inspection of the troops in her 70-year reign. The decision, as well as other modifications to the Trooping the Colour event, was made as the Queen continues to experience “episodic mobility problems.”
The Queen’s mobility issues first came to light in March when it was reported the monarch was finding it “extremely difficult” to walk or stand for long periods of time. Those mobility issues forced the monarch in May to miss the State Opening of Parliament due to “mobility problems.” Due to her mobility issues, “her attendance at events depends on her day-to-day health,” and Her Majesty has begun to delegate royal duties to other members of the family, namely her son, who is next in line to the throne.
