London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Queen Elizabeth Forced To Slow Down At Age 95 After Night In Hospital

Queen Elizabeth Forced To Slow Down At Age 95 After Night In Hospital

Queen Elizabeth cancelled her appearance at the UN climate conference, a rare move for the workaholic monarch and all the more telling given her personal commitment to environmental issues.

After seven decades of relentless service, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has reached a "turning point" after a night in hospital forced her to take advice to slow down and cut back on engagements.

The 95-year-old cancelled her appearance at the UN climate conference, which starts on Sunday in Scotland, a rare move for the workaholic monarch and all the more telling given her personal commitment to environmental issues.

Buckingham Palace said she was "disappointed" to pull out, but that the decision was taken following medical advice "to rest".

It also came as a blow to organisers of the UN summit, with the queen's star power sure to attract attention to any event.

"But I think it is a very sensible decision," Penny Junor, a royal family expert, told AFP.

"It would have involved a long journey from Windsor to Glasgow, it was an evening reception and therefore especially tiring, but there is the additional risk of exposing her to Covid-19".

The queen took a step back from a busy month on October 20, the day after a reception at Windsor Castle where she chatted with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US businessman Bill Gates.

She spent the following night in hospital, the first since 2013, where Buckingham Palace said she underwent "preliminary examinations".

The queen has since officially resumed "light duties", receiving two ambassadors by video conference.

Royal watcher Richard Fitzwilliams said the monarch would only have given up a COP appearance "reluctantly", but added "clearly at 95, there are limits."

Turning point


The queen is due to celebrate her platinum jubilee next year, marking 70 years on the throne, and was still in fine form in public recently, despite the loss of her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip in April.

She has been attending official engagements almost daily, similar to her pre-pandemic workload, since returning from her traditional summer holiday in Balmoral, Scotland.

This doesn't take into account her less visible work of reviewing government documents and conducting almost weekly meetings with her prime minister.

She made the headlines recently after being seen walking with a cane, and The Sun tabloid reported that she had also stopped walking her corgis in recent days.

The Queen is reported to have stopped riding her horses, a keen passion, although plans to take it back up again after resting. She is also believed to have given up drinking alcohol.

"It is a bit of a turning point," said Junor.

"She has been working at the rate of someone twenty years younger, and I think the public needs to adjust its expectations and recognise that she is 95."

It is a sentiment shared by Britons interviewed by AFP.

The Queen "needed to carry on working after the loss of her husband," said 68-year-old Suzanne Foutain.

But now "I think gradually she'll go further and further in the background and take the happy retirement which she deserves," she added.

"I'm a little bit worried," said Michelle Hall. "She needs to slow down."

Video star


The monarch will likely conduct "fewer personal appearances and more on video," said Junor.

"And where she does appear I would guess it will be as a spectator rather than at receptions where she has to work a room and meet dozens of people".

Fitzwilliams also expects Elizabeth II to participate in more virtual events, saying "she's superb at it".

He pointed to the video address she gave to the nation that buoyed spirits during the darkest days of the pandemic.

She will address COP26 by video, but it will be her son Prince Charles, heir to the crown, who will deliver the opening in-person speech.

The 72-year-old prince, who lacks the popularity of his mother, has already been representing her abroad since she gave up foreign duties.

The Queen will also be able to count on her grandson Prince William, third in line of succession and far more popular than his father.

But some of her subjects are still hopeful that the monarch will long rein over them.

"She is stronger than anything. She's got another few years left in her, most definitely," said 73-year-old Londoner Linda Smart.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×