Queen’s visit to COP26 climate summit ‘hanging in balance’ as she waits for test results

The 95-year-old monarch was forced to spend the night in hospital on Wednesday, and now her key role at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow hangs in the balance

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Queen discusses COP26 with Elin Jones and the Duchess of Wales

The Queen’s appearance in front of world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference is in the balance, after she was ordered by doctors to rest until she receives the results of “preliminary investigations”.

The 95-year-old monarch was forced to spend the night in hospital on Wednesday, after specialist doctors performed a series of tests at the King Edward VII hospital in Marylebone, London.

Buckingham Palace said medics took an “understandably cautious approach”, adding the Queen’s admission was for “practical reasons”, before she returned home to Windsor Castle on Thursday afternoon.

A Palace source said the results of the initial tests “could result in the need for further examinations….or confirm that no further tests are necessary”.

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The source added: “Clearly the doctors are looking at something during their preliminary investigations.”

The Queen is understood to be committed to attending COP26 conference in Glasgow on November 1, alongside son Prince Charles and grandson Prince William, as they jointly encourage world leaders to take action on the global climate emergency.

But it emerged on Friday that the Queen will only take on “light duties”, until she speaks to doctors.

A palace source said: “The Queen is in good spirits and will continue to take a period of rest over the next few days.

“She will be guided by her doctors on what is appropriate in terms of her duties.”

Her Majesty is understood to have several engagements in her diary for next week which have been put on hold, while an assessment on her attendance at COP26 will be taken in due course, The Mirror understands.

Downing Street declined to say whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson held his weekly audience with the monarch on Wednesday, but so far it has not been listed in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements.

The spokesman said: “The Prime Minister’s best wishes have been passed on to Her Majesty.”

Sources confirmed the Queen is accommodating visitors over the weekend from “family who live nearby”.

Her youngest son Edward, his wife Sophie and their children Louise and James live in Bagshot Park in Surrey, which is just 11 miles away.

Scandal-hit Prince Andrew, who also lives close to the Queen at his Royal Lodge home on the Windsor Estate, is also understood to be planning to visit his mother in the coming days.

The Queen was forced to “reluctantly” cancel a two day trip to Northern Ireland on Wednesday morning, less than five hours before she was due to arrive.

Alongside the announcement that the Queen would not travel, Buckingham Palace said she would “rest for the next few days” at Windsor Castle.

In the early afternoon the monarch was seen walking her dogs on the Windsor Estate, while it later emerged she was taken to hospital in London by car later in the day.

Courtiers insisted Her Majesty was forced to stay overnight after it became too late to make the 26 mile journey home to Windsor.

But the Palace only confirmed the Queen’s stay at 10pm on Thursday, more than five hours after she had returned to Windsor Castle.

The Queen’s admittance was her first overnight stay in hospital since she spent a night at the private clinic in 2013 when she was treated for the symptoms of gastroenteritis.

A palace spokesman did not reveal the nature of the Queen’s investigations, but stressed the tests were “not Covid-related”.

The Queen is double-vaccinated and is understood to have had her booster jab.

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the issue of revealing details about the monarch’s health is problematic: “This is a tricky one because the Queen does have a right to a certain degree of privacy, but on the other hand she’s head of state.

“So does that entitle us to know exactly what ailments she may or may not have?

“It’s a very difficult one to get the balance right for the satisfaction of everybody.”