Today, the Queen was driving near Windsor Castle as she took a two-week vacation.
Her Majesty was unable attend the COP26 conference at Glasgow, so the monarch took the wheel of her green Jaguar to transport her beloved corgis for a morning stroll on her Berkshire estate.
The Queen, wearing sunglasses and a headscarf as she left Windsor Castle’s rear entrance, looked happy and healthy.
It came Her Majesty is set to stick to low-key online events this week as she adheres to doctors’ orders as part of her determination to be fit for Remembrance Sunday.
Royal sources said that the 95-year-old will follow medical advice ‘to the letter’ after she was advised to cancel all official visits and rest for another two weeks.
But the monarch has vowed to attend the service at the Cenotaph on November 14 with one palace source saying: ‘That’s just unmissable, as far as the Queen is concerned. It is one of her most sacred duties.’
The Queen drives at Windsor this morning after taking a break in her royal duties, according to her doctors
Her Majesty was photographed in her green Jaguar estate that she uses for ferrying her corgis on their morning walks close to Windsor Castle
Last month, the Queen was secretly taken to King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London for an overnight stay. Royal aides said the trip was for ‘preliminary investigations’ with the exact reason still unknown.
Palace aides are drafting plans for the Duchess of Cornwall to take on a significantly greater role – and it is possible she could even be appointed to an elite group of senior Royals who can carry out duties on behalf of the Queen.
Her Majesty’s decision to cancel all public engagements for at least the next fortnight, as she recovers from an unknown ailment, has raised concerns about a potential leadership gap at the head of the Royal Family if her illness persists or should the 95-year-old Monarch be incapacitated in the future.
So far, the Queen has continued to carry out her duties as Head of State, despite having to ‘reluctantly’ cancel a number of high-profile engagements over the past few weeks.
The Monarch still receives her daily red boxes of Government documents. However, constitutional experts expressed concern last night about the readiness of the Royal Family in case she is unable to fulfill her basic role as Head of State.
Buckingham Palace says her medical team is simply taking ‘sensible precautions’ and Boris Johnson yesterday described the Queen as being on ‘good form’ when they spoke last week.
Sources say that Camilla, who was praised last week for her speech in which she called for more urgent action against sexual violence against women, will be asked by the task force to manage the workload.
Under rules enshrined in law and detailed on the official Royal website, four members of the family are currently entitled as ‘Counsellors of State’ to take over from the Queen if she is unable to perform her duties – if, for example, she were abroad or unwell.
The 95-year-old Monarch’s decision to cancel all public engagements for at least the next fortnight as she recovers from an unknown ailment has raised concerns about a potential leadership gap at the head of the Royal Family (pictured, the Queen last week)
Palace aides are creating plans for the Duchess to assume a significantly larger role. She could even be appointed as a member of an elite group of Royals who can perform duties for the Queen (pictured, Camilla and the Queen in 2019).
These Counsellors include Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Andrew. They were chosen as they are the next in the line to the throne. This rules out William’s children George, Charlotte and Louis.
But neither Prince Andrew – who is fighting sex claims lodged in the US – nor Prince Harry, who has quit official duties and now lives in California, are currently working members of the Royal Family.
Vernon Bogdanor, the author of Monarchy And The Constitution and professor of government at King’s College London, said: ‘A Counsellor not domiciled in the UK cannot act, so that excludes Harry. Princess Beatrice, who is 21 years old, would be the next in line. Most functions of the Head can be delegated. It is not, for example, constitutionally necessary for the Queen to attend the State Opening of Parliament.’
Two Counsellors of State are required to act together in a ‘quorum’ to perform crucial functions, such as providing Royal assent to bills passing through Parliament and appointing High Court judges. These functions of government cannot be carried out without this assent.
Bangor University constitutional expert Dr Craig Prescott stated that the current situation could cause problems for the smooth operation of Government. ‘There is a small but genuine risk that the non-availability of Counsellors of State could impede the operation of the constitution. It could make the day-today running of Government more difficult.
‘The Counsellors of State are a Plan B from a constitutional point of view, but what happens when Plan B isn’t quite ideal? The Queen could consider adding the Duchess, who would be a Counsellor to State when Charles is King. Or they could go down the line to Princesses Beatrice or Eugenie, or add more members of the family, like Princess Anne or Prince Edward to the list.’
A source close to the Palace said: ‘This is a constitutional headache. Talks are being held about what to do if the Queen becomes incapacitated. You can’t have Andrew and Harry do it and Charles and William are extremely busy.’
There are precedents for Counsellors to State stepping in. During the Queen and Prince Philip’s tour of New Zealand in 1974, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret enacted the Queen’s wishes to dissolve Ted Heath’s Government.
Mr Johnson yesterday sought to allay any alarm about the Queen, saying the public must ‘respect’ her need to rest for a short period of time.
Speaking to ITV News in Rome during the G20 summit, he said: ‘I spoke to Her Majesty, as I do every week as part of my job, and she was on very good form. Her doctors have advised her to rest. We need to respect that and be able to understand that. Everybody wishes her all the very best.’
The Queen spoke to Mr Johnson and recorded a speech at Windsor Castle. This speech will be shown at tomorrow’s COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
On the advice of doctors, the Queen had to cancel her trip to Northern Ireland earlier in the month.
The announcement that she will rest for ‘at least’ another fortnight means she will miss the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. She hopes to be able to attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Cenotaph on Nov 14. Prince Charles will lay the wreath on his mother’s behalf, as he has done in the past. She can also watch from a nearby balcony.
Charles will then fly to Jordan and Egypt on an official tour. William will be the only Counsellor.
A Royal insider said: ‘The Counsellors of State are there to provide a more temporary stopgap. It would take an extraordinary sequence of events to bring about a Regency, I believe. Her Majesty will be committed to carrying out her duties as long as she possibly can.’
Buckingham Palace declined comment.
But neither Prince Andrew (right), who fights sex claims lodged by the US, or Prince Harry (left), which has quit his official duties and now lives with his family in California, are currently working members in the Royal Family.