• Wednesday, April 24, 2024
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BusinessDay

COVID-19: Queen Elizabeth II cancels online meetings for the second time in a week

Elizabeth Windsor and colonialism’s false binary

Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II has postponed two virtual meetings because she is still suffering from cold-like symptoms as a result of COVID-19.

It was the 95-year-old monarch’s second cancellation of virtual meetings since being diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week.

She spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the phone yesterday, which was considered as a positive indicator of her rehabilitation.

The virtual meetings have been going on since the beginning of the pandemic, but the Queen had just visited with officials and ambassadors in person before contracting COVID-19.

Officials and the public are concerned about the monarch’s age, COVID-19 diagnosis, and a health scare last year.

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She had spent a night in the hospital in October after cancelling a two-day trip to Northern Ireland due to an unexplained illness, and she recently joked that she was unable to move.

The palace said Elizabeth, who had been fully vaccinated and had had a booster shot, would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle while recovering.

The Queen, who is the country’s longest-reigning monarch, has a series of engagements coming up as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.

She is scheduled to host hundreds of diplomats at Windsor at a meeting with a reception on March 2.

She is also to attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14, followed by a memorial service on March 26 for her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last April aged 99.