Queen Elizabeth II seen for 1st time since back sprain derailed Remembrance Sunday appearance
London — Buckingham Palace released video on Wednesday of Queen Elizabeth II holding a meeting with a government official at her home at Windsor Castle – the first time the British monarch has been seen since she was forced to change previous plans due to a back sprain.
The queen held a face-to-face audience with General Sir Nick Carter, the Chief of the Defense Staff, at Windsor Castle, resuming her official engagements after missing out on a Remembrance Sunday service in London over the weekend due to her back trouble.
She was shown standing and smiling as she greeted Carter on Wednesday. It was the first time the 95-yar-old queen has been seen carrying out an official, in-person engagement since she attended a reception at Windsor on October 19.
The service, to pay tribute to Britain's war dead, has long been one of the most important on the monarch's calendar, and was widely expected to be her first public appearance after canceling previous events in recent weeks on doctors' advice. Buckingham Palace said she had cancelled her plan to attend, sending her son Prince Charles to stand in, "with great regret."
The queen served in World War II as an army driver and mechanic, and attaches great importance to Remembrance Sunday, a solemn ceremony to remember the sacrifices made by fallen servicemen and women.
The back sprain came after the queen spent a night in a London hospital in October after being admitted for medical tests. It was her first such stay in eight years. On October 29, the palace said she had been told by doctors to rest for two weeks and only take on light duties.
Under that advice she also canceled plans to attend the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
The queen has continued to work from home, doing desk-based duties during her period of rest, according to Buckingham Palace. She has spent most of the time at her Windsor Castle home, west of London, but she did pay a weekend visit to Sandringham, the royal family's eastern England estate.
Britain's longest-lived and longest-reigning monarch, Elizabeth is due to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne — next year.
