Queen will NOT be at Commonwealth Service: Her Majesty, 95, asks Prince Charles to stand in

Queen Elizabeth will not attend Monday’s Commonwealth Service, Buckingham Palace has said. 

‘After discussing the arrangements with the Royal Household, The Queen has asked The Prince of Wales to represent Her Majesty at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday,’ Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

‘The Queen will continue with other planned engagements, including in person Audiences, in the week ahead.’  

It is what was to have been the 95-year-old’s first in-person public engagement since being advised to rest by her doctors, celebrating Britain and the international grouping based around its former colonies.

Queen Elizabeth (pictured, appearing on a videolink virtual audience on Tuesday, March 8) will not attend Monday’s Commonwealth Service, Buckingham Palace has said

Buckingham Palace said the 95-year-old monarch (pictured meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, March 7) would resume in-person audiences next week

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, will stand in for his mother at the Commonwealth Service on Monday, Buckingham Palace has announced

The queen tested positive for Covid-19 on February 20 and was said to have mild symptoms. 

She returned to in-person engagements this week, meeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Windsor Castle on Monday and later meeting the head of Britain’s armed forces. 

Palace officials have said that Elizabeth has been fully vaccinated and has had a booster shot.

Senior royals attending the Commonwealth Day service include Charles, his wife Camilla, and Prince William and his wife Catherine.