The Queen has been told to pace herself to make sure she can make Prince Philip’s memorial service in two weeks, it has been reported.
Her Majesty, 95, is unable to attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
Buckingham Palace did not give a specific reason for her absence from the event.
And now she is set to be told to take it easy in the coming days and weeks before the memorial service for her late beloved husband at the same venue on March 29.
She is hoping to be able to attend the event with her walking stick and has ruled out using a wheelchair.
An insider told The Sun: “You can’t say she will definitely be at the service but there’s an element of pacing herself to make it happen.”
Senior royal aides are understood to have accepted that the “frailties that come with living a long life” are finally catching up with her.
It is being reported that her aides said the Queen was so frail she is unable to even walk her beloved corgis.
Queen Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 corgis in her lifetime but she has not taken her dogs for a walk at Windsor Castle for six months.
The Queen, who turns 96 next month and has recently recovered from Covid, was last week moving around Windsor Castle without a walking stick and is not suffering from a new illness.
But she still made the “regretful” decision late on Friday to pull out of the annual Commonwealth Service, which is usually a highlight in her calendar.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen has asked the Prince of Wales to represent Her Majesty at the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey.”
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said she believed the Queen would be “determined” to make the Thanksgiving service dedicated to her late husband Prince Philip on March 29.
Ms Seward said: “It would have been a huge wrench to miss the Commonwealth Day service but she is facing a dilemma these days where she must choose her engagements wisely.
"She will be very determined to make the Duke of Edinburgh’s Thanksgiving service later this month, which will be of incredible importance to her considering his funeral was so scaled back.
“Her Majesty, I believe, is very like her mother, who was reluctant to use a wheelchair, so in her advancing years it’s about projecting herself as much as possible for the big occasions."
