The Queen Mother accompanied members of the Royal Family to morning service near Balmoral on Sunday, proving that reports of her ill-health have been greatly exaggerated. The 101-year-old royal smiled and waved to the crowds of well-wishers outside Crathie Kirk on Royal Deeside as she braved the inclement weather to attend church.
Concerns over the ageing royal’s health escalated last week when the Prince of Wales reportedly cancelled a planned getaway to Jordan. The trip was to be Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’s only holiday abroad, and insiders saw the move as a sign of the worst. However, the Queen Mum is clearly on the mend and was said to be “amused” by the tales circulating. “She is nevertheless determined to show her public that they were 100 per cent untrue,” reports a member of her staff. And that she did.
Dressed in a turquoise full-length coat and matching hat, the Queen Mum ascended a flight of stairs outside the church aided only by her walking stick. And following the service, which she attended alongside the Queen and the Countess Of Wessex, the nation’s favourite grandmother again waved to her fans before heading back to Balmoral for lunch.
“It was such a relief to see her,” said one churchgoer. “The rumours about her have been going about for a couple of days. So it was just fantastic to see her.”
Although she was diagnosed with anaemia shortly before her 101st birthday last month, the Queen Mum has kept up a heavy schedule of public appearances, but missed out on the Braemar Games last weekend. It was later revealed that she had been in the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary undergoing tests.
The Queen Mother has been staying at Birkhall mansion on the Balmoral royal estate where she has been entertaining guests this week. She is scheduled to remain on the estate until the end of the month.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
