The Queen has missed the annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations at the Cenotaph – only the seventh time she has not been present at the service in her seven-decade reign.
In a statement on Sunday morning, Buckingham Palace said that the 95-year-old monarch had sprained her back forcing her to remain at Windsor Castle to rest.
It is understood that this us unrelated to recent medical advice which saw her hospitalised.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph.
“Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.”
There is no sense from Buckingham Palace that Her Majesty’s sprained back is serious. The Daily Mail reports that the monarch plans to continue with light diary of engagements next week.
This is only the seventh time that Her Majesty has missed the Remembrance service at the Cenotaph.
She has previously missed the event back in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with her two youngest children – Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
Her Majesty was also absent in 1961, 1968, 1983 and 1999 – on each of these occasions she was undertaking official overseas visits.
The Prince of Wales led the nation in Remembrance in 2021 – a role he has taken on ever since The Queen decided not to personally lay a wreath back in 2017.
This is, however, only the third time where Prince Charles has laid a wreath on behalf of The Queen without his mother looking on from the balcony of the Foreign Office.
He has previously done so in 1983 and 1999 when Her Majesty was on a tour of Kenya and South Africa respectivley.
