LONDON, November 14 (AP): Queen Elizabeth II missed out on the Remembrance Sunday service in London to pay tribute to Britain’s war dead because she sprained her back, Buckingham Palace said Sunday.
The service, one of the most important on the 95-year-old monarch’s calendar, was widely expected to be her first public appearance after canceling events in recent weeks on doctors’ advice.
“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,” officials said in a statement just hours ahead of the ceremony. “Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.”
The queen spent a night in a London hospital last month after being admitted for medical tests. It was her first such stay in eight years. On Oct. 29, the palace said she had been told by doctors to rest for two weeks and only take on light duties.
She canceled plans to attend the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, but sent a video message.
On Sunday, other royals and politicians led the ceremony in London’s Whitehall, with hundreds of military personnel and veterans lined up around the Cenotaph memorial. It was the first time the event had returned to normal since the pandemic began.
Britain’s longest-lived and longest-reigning monarch, Elizabeth is due to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne — next year.
