As expected, Queen Elizabeth II didn’t attend the traditional Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on Sunday, April 17th – the latest in a recent string of canceled official engagements – due to her ongoing problems with mobility. It’s assumed that the 95-year-old monarch – who turns 96 in just a few days – is also feeling the after-effects of COVID-19, after she tested positive for the virus for the first time back in February.
Less than two weeks ago, Her Majesty told the staff at the Royal London Hospital during the official opening of the Queen Elizabeth Unit that she had felt “tired and exhausted” since testing positive for the virus, despite the Palace initially suggesting that she was only experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms.” The Queen was last seen in public in Westminster Abbey on March 29th for the memorial of her late husband Prince Philip. The Easter Sunday service coincidentally fell on the first anniversary of Prince Philip’s funeral.
Despite not being able to attend herself, The Queen left The Easter Matins Service in very capable hands, as grandson Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their two eldest children, Prince George, 8 and Princess Charlotte, 6, were representing the royal family at the event. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were also absent from the ceremony.
Speaking of The Queen's grandsons – Prince Harry reportedly paid his grandmother a secret visit on Thursday, April 14th, before he and Meghan Markle flew to The Hague in the Netherlands for the opening ceremony of The Invictus Games. Their appearance at the games on Friday marked their first public appearance together in Europe since they stepped down as senior royals in January 2020. Could their brief but significant stopover to see The Queen be Harry and Meghan's way of extending an olive branch to the royal family in their bid to try and heal the ongoing rift, we wonder?!
