Queen will attend Remembrance Sunday service at Cenotaph in first public appearance in weeks
The Queen will attend the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph this weekend, following weeks of absence from official events under doctors' orders to rest.
Her Majesty returned to Windsor Castle earlier this week after enjoying a long weekend away at her Sandringham estate while taking a step back from public duties.
The 95-year-old Monarch has been under doctors’ orders to rest for more than three weeks after undergoing preliminary tests and spending a night in hospital last month for an undisclosed condition.
ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship reports on the significance of the Queen confirming she will attend the upcoming Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph
Announcing her first public attendance in weeks, Buckingham Palace said the Queen will attend the wreath-laying service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday November 14 to honour Britain’s war dead.
She will miss the General Synod Service and Opening Session on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace said.
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It was previously confirmed that she will miss the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening.
That date of the Remembrance Sunday service has been “heavily inked” into her diary, royal sources previously said, while the Palace had said it was her "firm intention" to attend as it means so much to the Queen to honour Britain’s war dead.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "As in previous years Her Majesty will view the Service from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building.
"Mindful of her doctors’ recent advice, The Queen has decided not to attend the General Synod Service and Opening Session on Tuesday 16th November. The Earl of Wessex will attend as planned."
Her Majesty, who lived through the Second World War as a teenager, is head of the Armed Forces and attaches great importance to the poignant Remembrance Sunday service, which this year falls on November 14 – the Prince of Wales’s 73rd birthday.
Several close members of Her Majesty's family have served in the Armed Forces, including her late husband Prince Philip, who served in the Royal Navy during World War Two.
Her grandson Prince Harry served in the military for 10 years and went on two Afghanistan tours, while the Queen's son Prince Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War.
The Head of State's return to public duties comes after she was forced to cancel a trip to Northern Ireland at the last minute due to health reasons in late October.
Following doctors' advice to rest, the Monarch later pulled out of hosting world leaders at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, and instead addressed the summit via a a pre-recorded speech.
During her period of rest, Her Majesty has been carrying out light duties including dealing with her famous red boxes of papers and conducting a handful of virtual audiences during her period of rest.
The prime minister previously told ITV News that despite doctors' orders, the Queen was still "on very good form", while Prince Charles earlier reassured a well-wisher that his mother was "alright".