Queen Elizabeth to make first public appearance in 5 months and pay tribute to late husband

Queen Elizabeth | CREDIT: CHRIS JACKSON - WPA POOL/GETTY

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will make her first public appearance in five months on Tuesday when the royal family and other dignitaries gather for a memorial service in honor of her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was by his wife’s side for more than seven decades, passed away at their Windsor Castle home in April, two months shy of his 100th birthday.

Only 30 mourners were able to attend his funeral service then due to strict coronavirus rules, which meant the queen poignantly sat alone as her husband of 73 years was lowered into the Royal Vault of St George’s Chapel of the castle.

Tuesday’s service of thanksgiving at London’s Westminster Abbey will be a much bigger event, with Buckingham Palace saying the 95-year-old queen had been actively involved in its planning.

The monarch herself has been forced to cut back on her duties since she spent a night in the hospital last October for an unspecified illness and was advised to rest, and there have been concerns about her health after she canceled a number of planned engagements since then.

The occasion will be her second son Prince Andrew’s first public outing since he made an undisclosed payment to settle a U.S. lawsuit over allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl decades ago, claims he denied.

Joining him in the congregation will be other senior royals, foreign kings and queens, friends of the late Duke, politicians including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, military figures, and more than 500 representatives from charities and other organizations he championed.

Publish : 2022-03-29 15:14:00

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