Queen will decide 'last minute' if she will attend Prince Philip's memorial service

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The event will be held on 29 March

ST AUSTELL, ENGLAND - JUNE 11: Queen Elizabeth II attends an event in celebration of The Big Lunch initiative at The Eden Project during the G7 Summit on June 11, 2021 in St Austell, Cornwall, England. UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, hosts leaders from the USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada at the G7 Summit. This year the UK has invited India, South Africa, and South Korea to attend the Leaders' Summit as guest countries as well as the EU. (Photo by Oli Scarff - WPA Pool / Getty Images)

The Queen has a busy schedule every year, but particularly this year, as she celebrates her 70-year reign as British monarch.

However, Her Majesty has had to cancel a few engagements in her diary recently due to contracting coronavirus, and other health concerns, and it is feared she may be unable to attend her late husband Prince Philip’s thanksgiving memorial service next week.

The Sun Online has reported the 95-year-old royal will decide last minute whether she is well enough to attend the service, which will take place at London’s Westminster Abbey on March 29 to commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh’s relationship with Westminster Abbey.

It has been claimed the Queen’s palace aides are putting plans in action to ensure the Queen is comfortable enough to attend the service, which may include a helicopter, privacy screens, and a wheelchair, to transport her to the venue following her permanent move from Buckingham palace to the royal residence in Berkshire.  

The British monarch was forced to cancel the Commonwealth Day ceremony earlier this month because of her health and comfort, which saw her son Prince Charles attend the engagement in her absence.

However, more recently the Queen has been spotted using a walking stick at Windsor Castle while viewing artwork by Halcyon Days, and she has previously claimed she “can’t walk”.

For the last few weeks there has been growing concern surrounding the Queen’s mobility, and she has been advised by her aides to “pace herself” ahead of the service, and forthcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

A source previously told The Sun Online: “You can’t say she will definitely be at the service but there’s an element of pacing herself to make it happen.”

Royal author, Ingrid Seward, added: “This is about her mobility letting her down.  If she can’t move about properly, she certainly doesn’t want that broadcast on TV at the Abbey.”

Royal aides are said to have accepted the “frailties that come with living a long life” are slowly catching up with the monarch.

Despite it all, the Queen vows to continue her royal engagements.

The source added: “She is as committed to her duties of state as ever.”

The post Queen will decide 'last minute' if she will attend Prince Philip's memorial service appeared first on Marie Claire.

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