On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth made her first public appearance in five months, when she joined other members of the royal family and dignitaries at a memorial service for her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had been by his wife’s side for more than seven decades, died in April, two months shy of his 100th birthday, at their Windsor Castle home.
Due to rigorous coronavirus laws, just 30 mourners were able to attend his funeral, leaving the queen alone as her 73-year-old husband was lowered into the Royal Vault of the castle’s St George’s Chapel.
The queen joined her successor, Prince Charles, his son William and wife Kate, and other members of the royal family, including their children, at Westminster Abbey in London on Tuesday for a much larger thanksgiving service.
Foreign kings and queens, friends of the late duke, politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, military personnel, and over 500 representatives from charities and other organizations he championed were among those in attendance.
The 95-year-old queen, according to Buckingham Palace, was actively involved in the planning.
Since spending a night in hospital last October for an unidentified illness and being ordered to rest, the monarch has been obliged to reduce her duties, and there have been fears about her health when she canceled a number of planned events since then.
It was also her second son Prince Andrew’s first public appearance since he paid an unknown sum to settle a US lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a teenage girl decades ago, which he denies.
The queen entered the Abbey through a side entrance, using a walking stick and accompanying Andrew for her first public appearance since getting unwell.
Following a disagreement with the government about security protection, Prince Harry, who has moved to the United States with his wife Meghan, did not attend the service.