Buckingham Palace stated that the 95-year old British monarch visited King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Wednesday to conduct preliminary investigations. She was later seen returning to Windsor Castle, where she continued light duties.
After she cancelled a trip to commemorate 100 years of the founding of Northern Ireland, the queen was subject to tests. The palace stated that she had “reluctantly accepted” medical advice to rest for a few more days. This matter had nothing to do with COVID-19.
Because of her privacy, the palace is not required to provide a detailed account of the monarch’s health. The Sun newspaper reported that the palace confirmed the queen’s hospitalization in this instance.
Robert Hardman, a royal expert, said that there is generally a rule of thumb: if a senior member is going through a procedure, or has to have an operation, the medical bulletin is issued. However, this doesn’t apply for tests.
According to Hardman, author of Queen of the World, which documents the monarch’s influence around the world, the attention given to the development is merely an expression of the immense affection the global community feels for him.
He said that she doesn’t like people making fuss about her, especially when it comes to health. “And I think it’s a concern about sorting of maintaining the dignity of office. And I know that one reason why there wasn’t any discussion yesterday about the trip to hospital was because they didn’t want to set up huge banks of cameras outside the hospital.
The long-secretive monarchy is facing similar struggles to other celebrities and leaders who have a voracious appetite to detail their personal lives.
The Vatican published daily bulletins in July about Pope Francis’ 10-day stay in hospital after he had a piece of his colon removed. The Vatican kept Francis’ hospitalization secret until the pope had already been admitted and was about for surgery.
The Vatican is well-known for being secretive about popes’ health. It refused to acknowledge that St. John Paul II had Parkinson’s disease. While the Vatican has often cited the medical privacy of the pope in restricting information flow, the information vacuum often fuels speculation about a possible papal death or conclave to elect a successor.
This week, there has been concern about Elizabeth’s health. She was last seen walking with a stick at the Westminster Abbey service to mark the centenary celebration of the Royal British Legion, an army charity. Although she used a cane since 2003, she did so after undergoing knee surgery.
The focus shifted to her busy schedule which included meetings with diplomats and a reception at Windsor Castle, where global business leaders were invited, as well as attending Ascot Racecourse’s horse races.
She will be hosting world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland in less than two weeks. This is a significant engagement that she may want to get some rest before then.
Although Elizabeth has been in good health all her life, she is Britain’s longest-living and longest-reigning monarch. Next year, she will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee (70 years on the throne)
Elizabeth, who has been a ruler since 1952, was made widower in April when Prince Philip, at the age of 99, died. While she has reduced her workload in recent times, she still maintains a busy schedule with royal duties.
Recently, she declined to be named “Oldie-of-the Year” by The Oldie magazine. Her office stated that “Her Majesty believes that you are as old and feel as you feel”, but The Queen doesn’t believe she meets the criteria to be accepted.
