Queen Elizabeth will not attend Easter Sunday service at Windsor, royal source says

By Max Foster and Toyin Owoseje, CNN

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will not join other members of the royal family for an Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle this year, according to a royal source.

It comes just a few days after it was announced that she would not be attending Thursday’s annual Maundy Service — the first time in more than 50 years.

Other members of the royal family are expected to be in attendance on Sunday.

The Queen, who is head of the Church of England, has cut back on some public engagements recently.

While she is understood to be in good health, she has some mobility problems and has been increasingly delegating public appearances to other senior royals.

In February, Buckingham Palace announced that the 95-year-old monarch had tested positive for coronavirus, suffering mild cold-like symptoms. But she continued light duties at Windsor.

The Queen revealed last week that the illness left her “very tired and exhausted.”

In a video appearance on a call with staff and patients at an east London hospital, she told former Covid patient Asef Hussain: “I’m glad that you’re getting better … It does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it? This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result.”

Although the Queen joined the royal family and other dignitaries in March for a memorial service in honor of her late husband, Prince Philip, she missed Thursday’s annual Maundy Service, an important pre-Easter fixture in the royal calendar.

This was the first time since 1970 that she was unable to attend the Maundy Service; Prince Charles took her place, following the tradition of distributing special coins to community stalwarts. The number of recipients relates to each year that the Queen has been alive: This year it was 96 men and 96 women.

The Queen’s 96th birthday is on April 21. The occasion will be marked with a 41-gun royal salute in Hyde Park, but the biggest festivities will be reserved for her official birthday in June.

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