Is Queen Elizabeth Going To Scale Back Her Public Appearances Even More?

Queen Elizabeth II has been making headlines in the past few weeks for an unfortunate reason: her health hasn't been at its best. The queen was hospitalized toward the end of October for reasons that Buckingham Palace chose not to disclose, per Vanity Fair. However, royal insiders revealed that the queen was simply overworked and overtired. The hospital stay and resulting advice from doctors to rest led Elizabeth to cancel her yearly trip to Northern Ireland where she was supposed to attend a church service to celebrate its centenary, according to The Washington Post. Although she was then scheduled to attend the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow in early November, she once again had to cancel her appearance in order to rest, reported the BBC.

The ups and downs of the past month have caused many to become concerned for the queen's health and ability to carry out her royal duties. British royal family enthusiasts all over the world are wondering if Britain's longest-reigning monarch will abdicate the throne anytime soon. However, this seems unlikely if Elizabeth's own words are to be believed. During her Christmas broadcast in 2008, the queen famously told the world that the only conditions upon which she would abdicate would be if she's diagnosed Alzheimer's or suffers a stroke, per Town & Country. While stepping down may not be in the queen's plans, yet another recent setback has many wondering if she will, at least, continue to reduce her public appearances.

Queen Elizabeth II was forced to miss the Remembrance Day event held on Saturday, November 14, at The Cenotaph in London due to a sprained back, reported the Daily Mail. This was the first time in over two decades that the queen wasn't present at the ceremony, which honors the lives lost to combat. Elizabeth's attendance was confirmed up until two hours ahead of the ceremony and her inability to attend reportedly left her feeling "deeply disappointed." However, the announcement made clear that the queen's sprained back was not related to her October hospital stay. As this isn't the first event that the British monarch has had to sit out, the public is left wondering whether we will continue to see less of her. 

A source told the Daily Mail that the queen won't be seen "out and about as much" and that, while "she will still be visible," she will be "carrying out less taxing engagements within palace walls." Due to her failing health, many of her more public and demanding duties will likely be delegated. A separate source told The Telegraph that, due to the unexpected nature of some of the queen's no-shows, she will no longer attend events alone and will always require the accompaniment of another royal family member. This way, if the queen falls ill or has to cancel for another reason last-minute, the public's expectations of the attendance of someone from the royal family will still be satisfied.