The Queen taken to hospital with stomach bug, cancels visit to Rome

QUEEN Elizabeth II has been hospitalised with a nasty stomach infection forcing her to cancel all engagements.

Queen Elizabeth

THE Queen has been admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis forcing her to cancel all engagements for at least the week including a trip to Italy and sparking public concerns for her health.

Buckingham Palace this morning moved quickly to allay fears it was anything more serious after the 86-year-old monarch was checked into King Edward VII Hospital.

A spokesman said it was a “precaution” and she was in “good spirits”.

The illness has forced her to cancel a visit to Rome and other engagements as she recovers.

The Queen's two-day trip to Rome had been planned to start on Wednesday. A palace spokeswoman said the trip might be "reinstated" at a later date.

The symptoms of gastroenteritis - vomiting and diarrhea - usually pass after one or two days, although they can be more severe in older or otherwise vulnerable people. Dehydration is a common complication.

The Queen was forced to pull out of St David’s Day celebrations in Wales on Friday but was driven to the King  Edward the VII hospital Sunday afternoon local time; the same hospital Kate Middleton was taken to last year with severe morning sickness and the central London medical centre that was the subject of hoax calls by Australian radio DJs.

Royal observers  said just the fact the Queen agreed to be taken to hospital suggested the stomach had taken its toll on her health generally.

The Queen and Prince Philip were expected to travel to Rome by week’s end for a two day visit but this has now been cancelled as had various other official engagements in the UK including a reception for MPs at Buckingham Palace.

“As a precaution all official engagements for this week will regrettably be either postponed or cancelled,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

“This is a precautionary measure. She was not taken to hospital immediately after feeling the symptoms. This is simply to enable doctors to better assess her.”

She is expected to remain in hospital for two days.

A doctor not involved in the queen's treatment said that if medical officials determined she had lost too much fluid, she could be rehydrated intravenously.

"I suspect that she's being assessed and that it'll be a relatively uncomplicated treatment," Dr Chaand Nagpaul told Sky News television. "It is very much about ensuring that the body receives the fluid it needs."

Police  set up a cordon as a large posse of media began gathering outside the hospital.

Prime Minister David Cameron sent his well wishes.

Just prior to the Queen being driven to hospital by private car, she paused at Buckingham Palace to award a medal to a long serving staff member.

The Queen is one of Britain's longest-reigning monarchs and has rarely let ill health get in the way of her still-busy schedule.

About five months ago, she cancelled an engagement due to a bad back.

Tthe last time the Queen was in  hospital was in 2003 for an operation on her knees.

The Queen has undertaken a number of engagements over the past week. On Tuesday, she met the new archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at Buckingham Palace, and on Thursday she presented a host of Olympic stars, including track and field star Jessica Ennis, with honors during an investiture ceremony.

The Queen performs more than 350 engagements a year and rarely misses any through ill health.