Queen Elizabeth is under medical supervision amid growing concerns for her health, Buckingham Palace has revealed.
“Following further assessment this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned about Her Majesty’s health and have recommended that she remain under medical supervision,” the palace said in a statement released on Thursday night Australian time.
“The Queen is staying comfortable and at Balmoral.”
All four of the Queen’s children (Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew) have arrived at Balmoral, the royal family’s estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William are also there, royal officials confirmed.
The Duchess of Cambridge is reportedly staying home in Windsor to be with the couple’s young children during their first week back at school.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are visiting the UK from the US on work commitments, are also on their way to Balmoral. The Duke of Sussex was due to speak at the WellChild Awards in London on Thursday afternoon before returning home with the Duchess to be reunited with their children in California.
Barriers were reportedly being set up outside Balmoral Castle as members of the royal family congregated in the area.
The latest palace announcement comes a day after the Queen postponed a meeting of the Privy Council after her doctors ordered her to rest.
The proceedings would have seen newly-sworn UK Prime Minister Liz Truss sworn in as First Lord of the Treasury and new cabinet ministers sworn into their roles.
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The Queen appointed Ms Truss as Prime Minister at Balmoral on Tuesday, instead of traveling to London for the event.
It was the first time in the Queen’s 70-year reign that the ceremonial transfer of power took place at Balmoral, rather than Buckingham Palace.
He has suffered from constant mobility problems and has increasingly ceded duties to his heir, Prince Charles, and other members of the royal family in recent months.
The Queen has battled a number of health conditions over the past year, including COVID-19 and an overnight hospitalization for what Buckingham Palace described at the time as “preliminary investigations”.
Ms Truss tweeted that the whole country would be “deeply concerned” by the palace’s statement about the Queen’s health, adding that her thoughts were with her and the royal family.
Opposition Leader Keir Starmer also said his “thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen and her family at this time”.
“Along with the rest of the country, I am deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this afternoon,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle interrupted a speech during the energy debate to update MPs on the Queen’s health. “I know I speak for the whole House when I say that we send our best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen and that she and the Royal Family are in our thoughts and prayers at this time,” he said.
Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter said there were many reasons for people to be concerned about the Queen’s health.
He said the formal appointment of Mrs Truss as Prime Minister this week would have “taken a bit of a toll” on Her Majesty.
“The issue of mobility is not something to be sniffed at and it would have taken all his strength to stand upright to have Boris Johnson resign and then meet with Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister coming in,” Arbiter told the BBC.
Holding a cane, Her Majesty looked frail but smiled as she greeted Britain’s new prime minister for the traditional “kissing of hands” ceremony on Tuesday.
The BBC’s former royal correspondent, Richard Sumner, said the careful wording of the palace statement suggested “something serious is possibly going on”.
“The whole palace politics has always been a euphemism and I’ve always suspected that maybe there was more to it than just a mobility problem,” he told BBC News.
“When you’re 96, of course you can’t expect to have the health of a 25-year-old.
“Hopefully this is a passing storm that can be weathered, but I think judging by the palace’s careful wording, something serious may be going on here.”
Mr. Sumner added: “People who have seen her say that she is mentally sharp and very interested in everything.”
He said it seems like “her body is giving up on her,” although it’s not clear “in what way or what way.”
British historian Andrew Roberts told MSNBC that the latest developments “only point in one direction.”
“I’m afraid I believe Her Majesty the Queen’s long life is moving peacefully towards its end,” he said.
“The way the royal family converges on Balmoral; the fact that he had Covid in February and is 96 years old; the fact that he had to adjourn at the last minute a meeting of the Privy Council that was on Zoom – you bring all these things together and I’m afraid they only point in one direction.”
Queen Elizabeth II is England’s longest-reigning monarch, having reigned for 70 years.
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