Queen Elizabeth II shocked the whole country when it was announced that she would be cancelling her two-day trip to Northern Ireland as her doctors advised her to get some rest. Hours later, the British press revealed that the Queen had been admitted to King Edward VII’s Hospital on Wednesday, 20 October.
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Fortunately, her stay was more of a precautionary measure than an emergency and the 95-year-old monarch was back for lunch in Windsor the very next day.
Health scare
To ease the public’s worries, Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming that the Queen was in fact doing well. They said in a statement:
Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains in good spirits.
At 95, the Queen’s health is definitely more fragile than it used to be and even more so given the pandemic. However, after the news broke out, the palace was quick to dismiss any rumours that her hospitalisation was linked to COVID-19.
Precautionary measure
According to The Sun, she had spent the night in hospital for more practical reasons. After doing a series of tests and examinations, it turned out that she was too weak to travel back to Windsor which was 30 kilometres away from the hospital. Given that she is a frequent visitor of the facility, she decided to stay the night.
On 21 October, she was allowed to return to her residence and was told to get plenty of rest—but it looks like the Queen has decided to bypass her doctor’s advice. According to Daily Mail's royal correspondent Rebecca English, she has already started tackling some ‘light’ duties.
