Just days before she faces one of her biggest constitutional duties, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will not attend a popular Scottish festival that has long been an annual fixture on her calendar.
The 96-year-old monarch, who has struggled with what Buckingham Palace has called “mobility issues,” will skip the opening of the Highland Games, The Associated Press reported Friday. She is a patron of the event and has regularly attended since her youngest days, the British press reported.
Her son, Prince Charles, will attend the event, while the queen remains at Balmoral Castle, the Scottish site where she is vacationing.
The cancellation comes days before the queen is expected to meet with outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the winner of the current Conservative Party caucus to select a new prime minister. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Runi Sunak are vying for the post.
Elizabeth has spent much of the past two years at Windsor Castle, west of London, where she took refuge during the coronavirus pandemic, the AP reported.
The queen was last seen in public in late July when she arrived at Aberdeen airport to begin her annual summer holiday in Scotland.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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