The royal family has gathered at Balmoral Castle as the Queen remains under “medical supervision” amid serious concerns for the health of the head of state.
The 96-year-old monarch’s children and grandchildren cancelled engagements to rush to Aberdeenshire as the House of Commons was informed of the “worrying” news.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who were already in Scotland, were the first of the senior royals to arrive at Balmoral, where the Queen has been staying since 21 July, and where earlier this week she received the outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his successor, Liz Truss.
The heir to the throne was seen carrying a briefcase and boarding a helicopter to Balmoral from Dumfries House in Ayrshire.
Prince William landed at Aberdeen airport at around 4pm, leaving the Duchess of Cambridge at their new home in Windsor with their three children, who were starting at a new school, Kensington Palace said.
William was accompanied on the Royal Airforce flight KRF23R, which took off from RAF Northolt in London at 2.39pm, by the Duke of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, according to sources. They arrived at Balmoral at around 5pm in a fleet of cars.
Prince Harry, who was due to present the WellChild charity awards on Thursday evening, cancelled his appearance as he made his way separately to Scotland. He had been planning to travel with the Duchess of Sussex, according to sources, but she remained at Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor. The couple had arrived in the UK on Saturday for charity engagements.
Aides said Princess Anne was already in Scotland.
Concerns for the Queen’s health were first raised on Wednesday when she pulled out of a virtual privy council meeting after doctors ordered her to rest. On Tuesday, she had looked bright, through frail and leaned heavily on her walking stick when she met Johnson and then Truss.
In a statement released at 12.32pm on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said: “Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remains under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
The royal family’s official website appeared to crash following the palace’s announcement, with an error message appearing on screen. A sign reading “no guard changing ceremony today” was positioned outside Buckingham Palace, but later removed.
As the news spread, a crowd of several hundred gathered outside Buckingham Palace, sheltering under umbrellas beneath dark clouds, with some in tears. The mood was equally sombre outside Balmoral.
News broke in the House of Commons when, immediately before the palace statement, Liz Truss was handed a note by the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Nadhim Zahawi, who had slipped into the chamber, then slipped out again. A note was also passed to the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, by his deputy leader, Angela Rayner.
The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, then interrupted the speech of the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, during the energy debate to tell MPs: “I know I speak on behalf of the entire house when I say that we send our best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen, and that she and the royal family are in our thoughts and prayers at this moment.”
He added: “If there is anything else, we will update the house accordingly.”
Truss said: “The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime. My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time.”
Starmer tweeted: “Along with the rest of the country, I am deeply worried by the news from Buckingham Palace this afternoon. My thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen and her family at this time, and I join everyone across the United Kingdom in hoping for her recovery.”
There were expressions of concern from the devolved nations and peers in the House of Lords. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, tweeted that the “prayers of the nation” were with the monarch.
Faith leaders, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the UK chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, and the Muslim Council of Britain sent messages of concern, as did the former prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair. Cameron sent his “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” via Twitter, while Blair said the news was “deeply concerning”.
There were no plans for the prime minister to travel to Scotland on Friday, Downing Street said, adding that it was not aware of any changes to Commons business on Friday, though that would be a matter for the Speaker.
The White House said the thoughts of President Joe Biden and the first lady were with the Queen and her family.
The BBC suspended normal programming for the afternoon for a news special.
Charles is said to have been making regular morning visits to his mother recently, which was considered unusual.
The Queen missed the annual Braemar gathering highland games, which she usually attends, last weekend. During her platinum jubilee she only travelled to Buckingham Palace twice.
