Queen Elizabeth II cancels trip on advice to rest for a few days

CNN

By Max Foster, CNN

Queen Elizabeth II is resting at Windsor Castle after “reluctantly” accepting medical advice to cancel a trip to Northern Ireland, planned for Wednesday and Thursday, Buckingham Palace has said.

The 95-year-old UK monarch has been advised to rest for the “next few days,” the palace said in a statement.

A source close to the palace told CNN that it is “not Covid related.”

“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 statement said.

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

The Queen, along with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had been due to attend a church service in the city of Armagh on Thursday, marking the centenary of partition and Northern Ireland’s foundation.

Irish president Michael D. Higgins had earlier declined an invitation to attend the church service, because its title “isn’t a neutral statement politically.”

Ireland’s Church Leader’s Group said in a statement Wednesday that it was “sorry” to learn the Queen would not be attending. The group acknowledged “the significance of her commitment to the work of peace and reconciliation.”

However the Queen is still expected to attend the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, which begins later this month.

She was overheard saying last week that the lack of action on tackling the climate crisis is “irritating.”

The Queen’s medical update comes days after she turned down a magazine’s attempt to award her the title of “Oldie of the Year,” saying she felt too young at heart.

She is the world’s longest-reigning monarch, presiding over the nation for almost seven decades. She became Queen in 1952, aged 25.

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CNN’s Peter Taggart contributed to this report