The official note –
Mobility problems, which torment the 96-year-old monarch as she herself confessed, will prevent her from attending for the first time in almost 60 years such a solemn appointment to which she will be forced to be represented by her son Charles, heir to the throne. Yet another forfeit was announced by Buckingham Palace, with a brief official note made known only on the eve of the event.
“Queen
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continues to experience episodic mobility problems and, after consulting with her doctors, she reluctantly decided not to attend the State Opening “
the formal opening of the parliamentary year.
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The throne will remain empty –
“At the request of His Majesty, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities (Parliament and Government), the Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech in his stead, with the Duke of Cambridge (William) also present.” According to what the ceremonial pointed out a little later, the throne will remain empty, while the imperial crown will be carried according to custom to Westminster to symbolize the figure. While Prince Charles will take his place to the right of it, as he did last year, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to his left. Beside her will sit instead Prince William, eldest son of Charles and Diana, second of her in the line of succession.
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The queen in semi-isolation –
Elizabeth II, who ascended the throne in 1952, had not missed any “State Opening” since then except in two exceptional cases: in 1959 and in 1963, in the midst of her first two pregnancies. In those circumstances, however, the reading of the speech was assigned to a simple senior official, the Lord Chancellor. Which is to say that
this year’s choice to be represented by Carlo is absolutely new
: the confirmation of an increasingly co-regent role for the 73-year-old dolphin.
In the last year, Elisabetta has attended only one external public event, the mass of suffrage for her beloved consort Filippo,
officiated shortly before the anniversary of his disappearance at Westminster Abbey in March. For the rest, the matriarch of the British dynasty has been subject to a long one since October
precautionary semi-isolation
in Windsor Castle, or in the Sandringham country residence
in English Norfolk, under the strict instructions of the doctors.
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At the risk of being present at the jubilee in his honor? –
In February, the monarch recovered from Covid-19, while publicly declaring that she is still dealing with symptoms of fatigue. A condition evidently not overcome by everything, as today’s announcement testifies. And that even casts shadows on her participation in the most anticipated appointment of the year:
London’s highlight celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee
of his seven decades of reign set from 2 to 5 June, between parades, popular celebrations and greetings to the subjects from the balcony of the royal palace.
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