The Queen will reportedly miss one of her favourite events the Braemar for only the sixth time in her 70-year reign.
Her Majesty, 96, has attended the traditional Scottish games celebration every year aside from five times previously, and is said to be planning to miss it due to her ongoing “episodic mobility problems”.
A royal source told the Daily Mirror on Saturday (03.09.22) about the monarch, who has not been seen in public since July 21: “The Queen’s episodic mobility problems have meant her decision to miss the Braemar Gathering has been taken for her comfort.
“Her Majesty will, naturally, be disappointed to miss out on the weekend’s festivities, but will no doubt be supporting the competitors and organisers from home.”
The Mirror says the Queen will stay at nearby Balmoral on Saturday while Prince Charles joins the spectators at Braemar, where crowds will watch events such as Tossing the Caber and Putting the Stone, along with Highland dancing and pipe bands.
But the Mirror said palace sources “moved quickly to allay concerns over the Queen’s health”, with the publication stating “several” insiders suggested Her Majesty remained “pin sharp” despite scaling back her public appearances in recent months and spending a night in hospital in October for an unspecified illness.
It was announced this week she would for the first time in her reign meet the new Prime Minister at Balmoral, not Buckingham Palace, to formally invite them to form a government.
The decision is said to have been made on the advice of doctors, who thought the journey to London would be an unnecessary break from the Queen’s recuperation at Balmoral after a packed summer of celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee.
During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this year she was forced to miss several events due to mobility problems.
In May, she passed responsibility for the State Opening of Parliament to Prince Charles, accompanied by Prince William – missing the ceremony for only the third time in her reign and the first in 59 years.
The Mirror reports the Queen is due to remain in Scotland until early October, when she will return to Windsor Castle.
