The party must be halted. Queen Elizabeth IIWill not be attending the Service of Thanksgiving as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The monarch, 96, made the decision to skip the Friday, June 3, event with “great reluctance,” Buckingham Palace revealed in a statement to Us Weekly. “The Queen greatly enjoyed today’s Birthday Parade and flypast but did experience some discomfort,” the statement continued. “Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, Her Majesty with great reluctance has concluded that she will not attend.”
Per the palace, “The Queen is looking forward to participating in tonight’s Beacon lighting event at Windsor Castle and would like to thank all those who made today such a memorable occasion.”
Elizabeth celebrated her annual birthday parade by watching the Trooping the Colour at London with her loved one from the palace balcony. The royal matriarch was accompanied by Prince William, Duchess Kate and their three children — Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. Despite all the fuss, she was seen chatting with Louis, her great-grandson, and enjoyed a sweet moment together.
ThoughtPrince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to the U.K. in honor of the special occasion, they did not stand with the queen on the balcony, instead viewing the Royal Air Force flyover from the Major General’s Office. Their children — Archie, 3,And Lilibet, 11 months — were not photographed at the event on Thursday, but the little ones are expected to attend Friday’s service.
Queen Elizabeth II at Trooping The Colour – The Queen’s Birthday Parade in London on June 2, 2022. Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
Elizabeth was experiencing a series of health problems just before her jubilee. This marked the 70th anniversary of her ascendance to the throne. On the advice of her doctors, she was temporarily hospitalized in October 2021. She returned home within one night. She contracted COVID-19 earlier this year.
“Of course, she has a team of doctors to lean on whenever needed and a support staff that’s second to none,” a source exclusively told UsFebruary. “But thus far Her Majesty has been handling this without any fuss or need to involve too many others in her recovery.”
At the time, the insider revealed that the queen felt “extremely thankful” for those around her who were providing “emotional and practical support” throughout her coronavirus battle.
Her Majesty eventually recovered and returned to work. However, concerns grew in May when Her Majesty missed opening the British Parliament for the first time in 70 years of her reign. Prince CharlesWilliam, 39 years old, was with her in her absence.
The queen’s jubilee will be celebrated through Sunday, June 5, and Her Royal Highness was encouraged to take it easy before kicking off the busy weekend. “The Queen has been advised by her loved ones and trusted advisors to go a lot easier on herself, even if it means missing more functions than she would like,” a source exclusively told Us last month. “Her attendance at these events is being handled on a case-by-case basis, so if she isn’t 100 percent on any given day that she’s due to be somewhere in person then she turns the duties over to someone else, be that Prince Charles or another serving senior royal who’s available to handle matters in her stead. … By not [overexerting] herself it’s giving her more energy to participate is as many of the events as possible.”
