Confusion reigns over Queen’s health after hospital stay
Buckingham Palace has declared the Queen is in “good spirits” after a hospital stay earlier this week but royal experts are not entirely convinced the truth is being told.
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Questions mounted on Friday local time about the health of the Queen after she had tests and spent a night in a London hospital, despite royal officials saying she was resting at home.
Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday morning that she pulled out of a planned engagement in Northern Ireland and had been advised to rest on medical advice.
But royal officials conceded late on Thursday that she had in fact had “some preliminary investigations” in hospital on Wednesday, and stayed overnight, after The Sun newspaper broke the news.
She returned from King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London to her Windsor Castle home west of the capital and was said to be “back at her desk” and “in good spirits”.
‘RUMOURS AND MISINFORMATION’
Britain’s Press Association news agency said the hospital visit and stay was not initially disclosed because it was expected to be short, and to protect her privacy.
She stayed overnight for “practical reasons”, said to be because it was too late to make the 42-kilometre trip back to Windsor.
The Queen has previously been treated at the exclusive private clinic, which is known for treating the royal family, including in 2013 for gastroenteritis, when she also stayed for one night.
The development follows several busy weeks during which the 95-year-old monarch undertook more than a dozen public engagements, including hosting a reception on Tuesday for global business leaders at Windsor Castle.
Royals author Robert Hardman told the BBC there would be “a mild degree of irritation at the palace this morning” that news of the Queen’s hospital stay had become public.
“There’s a concern to maintain the dignity of the office,” Mr Hardman said, adding officials had likely feared “huge banks of cameras and 24-hour news setting up outside the hospital”.
However, veteran BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said royal officials “have not been giving us a complete, reasonable picture of what has been occurring”.
“Rumours and misinformation proliferate (and) thrive when there is an absence of good, proportionate, trustworthy information.
“We must hope that we can rely on what the palace is now telling us,” he added, calling assurances that the queen was in good spirits “a handy phrase that the palace dusts off at moments such as this”.
Richard Palmer, royal correspondent at the Daily Express, also called the phrase a “palace cliche”.
“Royal sources had been keen to encourage the impression that she had just overdone it but may struggle to convince the public now,” he said.
NO FUSS
The Queen is head of state in the UK and 15 other realms around the world, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Preparations are already under way to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee next year, marking her 70 years on the throne.
The palace said she was back at her desk on Thursday afternoon undertaking “light duties”.
The disclosure, however, will inevitably raise fears for her health and the toll of her public duties given her advanced age.
Her late husband, Prince Philip, died in April just a few weeks before his 100th birthday, months after spending four weeks in hospital.
The monarch, who still rides and drives on her private estates, has been especially active since returning from her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland at the start of October.
Last week, she was seen for the first time at a major public event using a walking stick, but royal officials said it was not linked to any specific health condition.
She is still expected to attend a series of events linked to the upcoming UN climate summit in Glasgow next month.
“She hates people making a fuss of her in general but particularly to do with health,” added Hardman.
“But it’s a reflection of the enormous affection and concern the whole country has for her, and the fact that every news bulletin and newspaper is leading on it reflects that.”
‘PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS’
On Wednesday, the Queen spent her first night at hospital in nearly a decade, after cancelling a trip to Northern Ireland.
The 95-year-old was seen by specialists in London on Wednesday afternoon, Buckingham Palace said.
Her Majesty has already returned to Windsor Castle and is in good spirits, Buckingham Palace said, after “preliminary investigations” during her visit to hospital.
“Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today (Thursday) and remains in good spirits,” Buckingham Palace said.
The decision was not related to the coronavirus and the medical team is said to have acted out of caution.
The overnight stay in hospital was a first for the Queen since 2013, when she was treated for a stomach bug.
The monarch cancelled an official trip to Northern Ireland on Wednesday with the palace saying she had been told to rest by her medical staff.
She was also expected to attend events at the upcoming UN climate change summit in Glasgow next month.
A church service to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of Northern Ireland is due to take place in border town of Armagh on Thursday.
“The Queen sends her warmest good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland, and looks forward to visiting in the future,” the statement added.
The Queen — Britain’s longest-serving monarch — succeeded her father, king George VI, in 1952 and next year celebrates her Platinum Jubilee to mark 70 years on the throne.
She moved to Windsor in March last year as the coronavirus outbreak took hold. The decision was made to self-isolate because of the increased risk of infection due to her age, although she has since been vaccinated.
PUBLIC DUTIES
The Queen has resumed public engagements since the funeral of her late husband, Prince Philip, after his death aged 99 in April, either alone or accompanied by other senior royals.
Last week, she delivered a speech at the opening of the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, and at the weekend spent a day at Ascot racecourse.
On Monday, she held a virtual audience with the new governor-general of New Zealand, and on Tuesday received two ambassadors, also by videolink.
On Tuesday evening, she hosted a reception at Windsor for international business leaders attending a government investment summit, including the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, and senior British ministers.
At Tuesday’s reception, the Queen, her eldest son and heir Prince Charles, and grandson Prince William, mingled with guests, none of whom were wearing face masks.
Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in July but an increase in cases has prompted calls for measures to be reimposed to prevent further close-contact transmission.
England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said masks should be worn in crowded indoor spaces, due to fears that high numbers of cases could put pressure on health services.
The latest palace statement will inevitably raise fears for her health, even though she appeared well at Tuesday’s events.
She was seen for the first time at a major public event using a walking stick, although royal officials said it was not linked to any health condition.
But also on Tuesday, it was revealed that she had turned down an award celebrating the achievements of older people, assessing that she did not fit the criteria.
“Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel,” her assistant private secretary replied to The Oldie Magazine, it reported.
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