London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Queen cancels Northern Ireland trip and is told to rest

Queen cancels Northern Ireland trip and is told to rest

Buckingham Palace says monarch has ‘reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for next few days’
The Queen has cancelled a planned two-day visit to Northern Ireland after advice from her doctors that she should “rest for the next few days”.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days.

“Her Majesty is in good spirits and is disappointed that she will no longer be able to visit Northern Ireland, where she had been due to undertake a series of engagements today and tomorrow.

“The Queen sends her warmest good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland, and looks forward to visiting in the future.”

The 95-year-old monarch is resting at Windsor Castle, where on Tuesday evening she welcomed business leaders, tech entrepreneurs and politicians to a reception after the government’s investment summit. Among guests she greeted, alongside the prime minister, Boris Johnson, was the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

It is understood the Queen’s decision to rest is not related to Covid. There is no guidance at present on whether health issues will affect her plans to attend events linked to the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow at the end of the month.

She was due to begin the two-day visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

Before the investment summit reception she held two meetings via video link from Windsor Castle, greeting the Japanese ambassador, Hajime Hayashi, and the EU ambassador, João de Almeida.

At the weekend, she enjoyed a day at the races at Ascot, and on Monday held a virtual audience with the new governor-general of New Zealand.

Last week, she used a walking stick for what is believed to be the first time at a major public event when she attended a service marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion.

She had been due to arrive in Hillsborough, County Down on Wednesday where she was scheduled to meet local people including schoolchildren after the village was officially named Royal Hillsborough. It is the first village or town in Northern Ireland to be granted royal status.

She was also due to attend a church service in Armagh on Thursday to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland’s formation.

Political leaders wished her well following the cancellation. The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, tweeted: “Wishing Her Majesty the Queen all the very best as she takes a few days’ rest. I look forward to meeting her in Northern Ireland in the future.”

The DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, also tweeted his best wishes. “We thank Her Majesty for her good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland and trust that she will keep well and benefit from a period of rest,” he said. “It is always a joy to have Her Majesty in Royal Hillsborough and we look forward to a further visit in the near future.”

Church leaders expressed their sorrow after learning she would not be coming to Northern Ireland.

“We are very sorry to learn that it will not be possible for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to be present for the service of reflection and hope in Armagh tomorrow,” they said in a statement.

“We wish to convey to Her Majesty our good wishes and, in doing so, to acknowledge the significance of her commitment to the work of peace and reconciliation, which has meant a great deal to people throughout this island.

“We hope that tomorrow’s service will provide an opportunity to further that work, with an emphasis on our shared hopes for the future.”

The statement was signed by the Presbyterian moderator, David Bruce; the Church of Ireland primate, John McDowell; the Catholic primate, Eamon Martin; the president of the Irish Council of Churches, Ivan Patterson; and the president of the Methodist church in Ireland, Sahr Yambasu.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×