Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the State Opening of Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II will miss the State Opening of Parliament
The 96-year-old monarch is set to miss the opening of parliament with Buckingham Palace citing “episodic mobility issues” and say that her oldest son - and heir - Prince Charles, the Duke of Cambridge will appear in her place on Tuesday (10.05.22) to open proceedings.
This follows the Queen not attending events at Easter - such as the Maundy Thursday service - and the announcement that she would not be attending garden parties at her royal residences across the country.
The State Opening of Parliament begins the parliamentary year and includes the traditional Queen’s Speech, which sets out the government’s proposed agenda for that legislative period. This is only the third opening Queen Elizabeth II has missed - in 1959 and in 1963 due to her pregnancies with her two younger sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward - in her entire 70-year reign. On those dates, her place was filled by the Lord Chancellor.
This year will mark a return to the full pageantry of the event after last year’s ceremony was restricted by COVID-19 regulations.
It was announced last week that to help celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, all of the Queen’s great-grandchildren will take part in a pageant on 15 May for the Gallop Through History gala performance. This will include the three children of the The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four, along with Peter Phillips’ and his ex-wife Autumn’s Peter Phillips daughters Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, and Zara and Mike Tindall's three kids;, Mia, eight, Lena, three, and 13-month old Lucas. They will be joined by Sienna Mapelli Mozzi, the seven-month-old daughter of Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and her cousin August Brooksbank - whose parents are Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank - will appear.
Tagged in Queen Elizabeth II Prince Charles