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Tag: Queen Elizabeth

  • Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, hospitalised for undisclosed infections

    The 96-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, has been admitted to hospital with an infection and will miss the formal opening of parliament, Buckingham Palace has said.

    Philip, whose official title is Duke of Edinburgh, has been by the queen’s side throughout her 65 years on the throne and she has described him as “my strength and stay.”

    “The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London last night as a precautionary measure, for treatment of an infection arising from a pre-existing condition,” a spokesman for the Palace said.

    “Prince Philip is in good spirits and is disappointed to be missing the State Opening of Parliament and Royal Ascot,” the spokesman said.

    The queen, the world’s longest-reigning living monarch, celebrated her 91st birthday in April. She will be accompanied in parliament by her son, Prince Charles, who is heir to the throne.

    When Philip announced in May that he would retire later this year from active public life, he quipped about not being able to “stand up much.”

    Queen Elizabeth and Philip, who married at Westminster Abbey in 1947, are due to celebrate their platinum, or 70th, wedding anniversary in November.

    Both the queen and Philip have suffered some health issues in recent years.

    The queen missed a traditional Christmas church service last year for the first time in decades because of a heavy cold; and was hospitalised in March 2013 with symptoms of gastroenteritis.

    Philip underwent “an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations” in 2013.

     

    Reuters/NAN

  • Queen Elizabeth to inaugurate new session of parliament June 21

    UK Queen Elizabeth is to inaugurate the new session of parliament on June 21.

    The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, made this known in a statement on Thursday.

    Leadsom said: “the government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on June 21.”

    Leadson, however did not give details of the opening ceremony.

    Originally, the queen was scheduled to open the session on June 19, but Prime Minister Theresa May delayed it, to hold talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland to seek their support to prop up her minority government.

    With eight seats short of an overall majority, the co-operation from the 10 DUP members will ensure May has a majority to see through her programme of measures in the next session of parliament.

    Political observers will now be awaiting details of the Queen’s speech which will outline the government programme for new bills.

    Many of May’s proposals outlined in her recent election manifesto are expected to be scrapped, delayed or amended following the election which saw her lose her narrow majority in the House of Commons.

    The deal between May and the DUP has yet to be formerly agreed, but media in London reported that the State Opening will go-ahead even if no deal has been signed between the two parties.

    The Guardian newspaper in London speculated that Queen Elizabeth will not be happy, as the opening of parliament clashes with one of her favorite events, the famous Royal Ascot horse racing festival.

    “The Queen won’t be happy. It is Royal Ascot from next Tuesday, and having the state opening of parliament on the Wednesday might interrupt her plans to attend that day,” said the Guardian.

  • Manchester Attack: Queen Elizabeth visits injured victims in hospital, expresses shock

    Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday visited several children injured in the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena, meeting patients and staff at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

    The royal family published photographs of the queen meeting teenagers Millie Robson and Evie Mills, aged 15 and 14, and 12-year-old Amy Barlow at the hospital.

    Several children were among the 22 people who died in Monday’s attack at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande, including an eight-year-old girl.

    The queen earlier said she was “shocked by the death and injury in Manchester of so many people, adults and children, who had just been enjoying a concert.”

    She paid tribute to the emergency staff and expressed “admiration for the way the people of Manchester have responded, with humanity and compassion, to this act of barbarity.”

    In another development, the police said the arrests of eight suspects still in custody are “significant” in the investigation of the network behind the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.

    Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said said searches at several addresses in Manchester and other areas have yielded “very important” items assisting the investigation of Monday’s attack, which killed 22 people and injured dozens.

    “I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation,” he said.

    Hopkins said leaked forensic photographs published by the New York Times overnight had “caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.”

    However, he declined to comment on reports that his force has stopped sharing intelligence on the Manchester attack with the U.S.

     

     

  • Manchester Attack: Queen Elizabeth, Donald Trump, Angel Markel, other world leaders react

    Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has responded to the suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, northern England that killed at least 22 people and injured around 59 on Monday evening.

    In a statement published on the Royal Family’s official website, the Queen described the terrorist incident as a “dreadful event” and thanked the emergency services for the way in which they responded. Read the full statement below:

    The whole nation has been shocked by the death and injury in Manchester last night of so many people, adults and children, who had just been enjoying a concert.

    I know I speak for everyone in expressing my deepest sympathy to all who have been affected by this dreadful event and especially to the families and friends of those who have died or were injured.

    I want to thank all the members of the emergency services, who have responded with such professionalism and care.

    And I would like to express my admiration for the way the people of Manchester have responded, with humanity and compassion, to this act of barbarity.

    The Queen is one of the many heads of state around the world to have weighed in following the tragic incident. Earlier today, U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the “evil losers” who attacked the city and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Britons that “Germany stands by your side.”

  • Queen Elizabeth resumes duties as she recovers from cold

    Queen Elizabeth resumes duties as she recovers from cold

    Queen Elizabeth has resumed official duties as she continues to recover from a heavy cold that forced her to miss Christmas and New Year Church services.

    A spokeswoman said on Wednesday in London that on resumption, she gave an honour to a member of her staff in a private ceremony.

    “On Tuesday, the queen gave a member of her staff, Raymond Wheaton, the insignia of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour that usually rewards personal service to her or the monarchy.

    “The private ceremony took place at Sandringham and no pictures were available,’’ she said.

    The 90-year-old monarch fell ill before Christmas and delayed her trip from London to her country estate at Sandringham in eastern England by a day.

    The Queen then took the very rare decision not to attend the festive season church services.

    She has not been seen in public since before she became unwell and Buckingham Palace has said she was recuperating from a heavy cold.

    The spokeswoman added that the queen also sent a personal message of condolence on Tuesday to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan following the New Year’s Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people.

     

  • Cold Weather: Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas, New Year church services

    Cold Weather: Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas, New Year church services

     

    Britain’s Queen Elizabeth missed a New Year’s Day church service on Sunday due to a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said, a week after the 90-year-old monarch missed a Christmas Day service for the first time in decades.

    The world’s longest-reigning monarch, who became unwell before Christmas, stayed indoors at her Sandringham country estate in Norfolk, eastern England, while other members of the royal family attended the service.

    “The Queen does not yet feel ready to attend church as she is still recuperating from a heavy cold,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

    Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, 95, were both suffering from heavy colds in the week leading up to Christmas and delayed their journey from London to Sandringham by a day, travelling there by helicopter on Dec. 22.

    Philip attended both the Christmas and New Year services. On Sunday he arrived by car before walking into the grey stone parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, but the queen, who is the symbolic head of the Church of England, made no public appearance.

    A few dozen parishioners and a crowd of photographers had gathered outside the church on Sunday morning in cold, rainy weather as other members of the royal family arrived.

    The queen’s daughter, Anne, and her third son, Edward, were among those who attended.

    Elizabeth had previously attended the Christmas service at the church every year since the royal family started celebrating Christmas at Sandringham in 1988.

    After more than six decades on the throne, the queen has cut back on international tours but still regularly performs official duties around Britain.

    The palace announced on Dec. 20 she would step down as patron of several charities and other organizations to reduce her workload.

    While Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, died at the relatively young age of 56, her mother, known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, lived until 101 and was still appearing in public almost up until her death in 2002.

    Elizabeth has maintained the popularity of the monarchy despite years of political, social and cultural change since she became queen on Feb. 6, 1952, aged just 25