The Queen Mother cancelled a Women’s Institute engagement on Wednesday as fears for her health escalated. Royal officials say she has not managed to shake off the bug that prevented her from attending church services over Christmas.
Although the meeting had been moved to the ballroom at Sandringham, the usual venue of the village hall in nearby West Newton having been deemed too cold, the ‘ticklish cough and cold’, as Buckingham Palace described it, was considered too serious for the royal 101-year-old to leave her bedroom at the Queen’s Norfolk residence.
The Queen Mother’s last public appearance was on December 6th, at a lunch in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund in London, when she walked with the aid of sticks. The country’s favourite great-grandmother has always taken her royal engagements very seriously, often surprising the public with the extent of her determination and bravery. She is said to be very disappointed to have missed the local W.I. meeting.
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