Senior aides at Buckingham Palace are scrambling to devise a strategy for managing the Queen’s workload after being accused of misleading the public over her health.
Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, last night faced calls to ‘be ruthless’ and purge the Monarch’s diary of functions not central to her role as head of state.
Officials are understood to be drawing up a ‘core’ list of key events that the Queen will prioritise in the next 12 months, including the Platinum Jubilee to celebrate her 70-year reign in June.
Senior aides at Buckingham Palace are scrambling to devise a strategy for managing the Queen’s workload after being accused of misleading the public over her health
While her attendance at UN climate change summit in Glasgow, November 1, is still on the agenda, a final decision won’t be made until later in this week.
Meanwhile, the Palace’s communications team is under pressure to be more candid should the 95-year-old Monarch require further visits to hospital.
The Queen’s courtiers faced extensive criticism last week for failing to inform the public that she had been admitted to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Wednesday and stayed there overnight for tests.
The Queen at a reception at the Global Investment Summit in Windsor Castle on October 19, 2021
According to media reports, she was at Windsor Castle. Aides revealed that the hospital stay was only on Thursday night after leaks.
The controversy has shone a spotlight on the growing challenge faced by the Palace in balancing the Queen’s desire to be an active head of state with needing to protect her health.
Royal sources say the easing of Covid restrictions has resulted in a logjam of public events, adding pressure on the Queen’s diary.
According to Buckingham Palace’s Court Circular, she has held 13 separate audiences or meetings, attended seven major events and travelled almost 900 miles since leaving Balmoral on October 1.
Additionally, she continues to read Government papers daily, delivered in red boxes.
‘They have to find some kind of balance,’ said Sally Bedell Smith, who has written a bestselling biography of the Queen.
It is understood that Wednesday’s trip to London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital (pictured above) was for a short visit for some preliminary investigations
The Queen (right with Boris Johnson), at a reception for Global Investment Summit in Windsor Castle on October 19, 2021
‘I hope they have learnt from the pretty punishing pace she kept over the course of a month that that is maybe just too much.’
Prince Philip, 96, retired from public life in 2017. The Queen, however, has been determined to continue working and has been in sparkling form at engagements ever since his death in April.
However, she has accepted some changes in recent times.
She has retreated from long-haul travel in 2013 and she was joined by other senior royals who have assisted with the distribution of knighthoods at investiture ceremonies.
But royal commentators say the Queen’s taxing schedule of commitments will have to be reduced further to reflect her advancing years.
The Queen arrives in Cardiff, Wales to attend the ceremonial opening ceremony of the sixth Senedd on October 14, 2021
‘She doesn’t want to end up constantly in hospital because she is exhausted,’ said royal biographer Ingrid Seward.
‘She will have to do all the big events. It’s the smaller events that she can hand over.’
Ms Seward urged Prince Charles to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the Queen is not overworked, adding: ‘They can divide the duties between other members of the family but Charles has to take a stand and say to his mother, “Enough is enough.”’
Dickie, a former press secretary of the Queen, challenged her senior courtiers and demanded that the monarch become more selective.
‘The private secretaries have got to be proactive and ruthless and say, “Ma’am, you can do this, but you can’t do that. You can’t do everything”,’ he said.
The Palace press office is being urged not to hide the Queen’s condition if she needs further hospital treatment.
Ms Bedell Smith said: ‘When something happens like that, to preserve their credibility, they should issue bulletins in a timely way.’