Queen Elizabeth to miss opening of UK parliament because of mobility issues

The 96-year-old monarch’s son, Prince Charles, will take her place at the pomp-filled event on Tuesday; Prince William will also attend

The queen has missed only two state openings during her 70-year reign, in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward

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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth smiles while receiving the President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis and his wife Paola Cassis during an audience at Windsor Castle in April. Photo: AP

Published: 2:38am, 10 May 2022Updated: 3:52am, 10 May 2022

Prince Charles will replace his 96-year-old mother Queen Elizabeth at Tuesday’s ceremonial opening of the UK parliament, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, citing the monarch’s ongoing mobility issues.

“The queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided that she will not attend the state opening of parliament,” the palace said in a statement on the eve of the pomp-filled event.

“At Her Majesty’s request, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities, The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on Her Majesty’s behalf,” it added, referring to her eldest son and heir to the throne, Charles.

The palace added that the queen’s eldest grandson, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and next in the line of succession, would also attend the elaborate State Opening of Parliament ceremony.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth sits with Prince Charles on the Sovereign’s throne to deliver the Queen’s Speech at the state opening of parliament in London in October 2019. Photo: AFP

As head of state, the queen usually presides over the annual event, reading out her government’s legislative programme in an address from a gilded throne in the House of Lords.