Latest on the Queen’s health as monarch pulls out of St Paul’s Cathedral service for Platinum Jubilee

The Queen will miss the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral after experiencing “some discomfort” at her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Buckingham Palace announced last night.

The 96-year-old monarch still took part in the beacon lighting ceremony at Windsor Castle on Thursday night.

It appears to be a recurrence of the episodic mobility issues which forced her to miss the Queen’s Speech recently.

The monarch has been forced to cancel many public engagements over the past few months due to health issues.

But is she ill, and how is her health as the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations continue?

Here is everything you need to know.

What has happened?

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen greatly enjoyed today’s birthday parade and flypast but did experience some discomfort. Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, Her Majesty with great reluctance has concluded that she will not attend.

“The Queen is looking forward to participating in tonight’s beacon lighting event at Windsor Castle and would like to thank all those who made today such a memorable occasion.”

As well as the opening of parliament, the Queen has also recently been unable to attend the annual Commonwealth Day and Royal Maundy Services, despite reports that she does not intend to abdicate the throne.

She contracted Covid-19 in February 2022, with Buckingham Palace stating that she was experiencing "mild cold-like symptoms."

While recovering from infection, the Queen cancelled many work commitments; since then, she has continued to work but has reduced in-person activities due to her persistent mobility concerns.

Is she ill?

While the Queen is respectably 96 years old, in recent years she has been in relatively good health.

But since the autumn of 2021, the monarch has missed a number of royal engagements.

This relatively sudden bout of ill-health has had some people wondering whether an acute illness might be to blame for the mobility issues she is suffering, rather than simply “old age”.

Buckingham Palace has not said anything on the matter, and it is likely that were the head of state to be suffering from bad health, it would not want to make it known ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Queen reluctantly took to using a cane at engagements in October 2021, but her wheeling into ceremonial occasions amongst the pomp and pageantry is probably a step too far.

The Palace had previously stated that efforts were being made to ensure the Queen's welfare ahead of the approaching Jubilee celebrations.

What are episodic mobility issues?

Before the Jubilee, the Queen’s last public appearance was on 29 March 2022, during a memorial ceremony for her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, held at Westminster Abbey.

But the Queen has continued to host official audiences in person at Windsor Castle, including meeting heads of state, alongside virtual engagements held remotely.

While it’s easy to speculate worst-case scenarios, it is still very possible that the Queen’s mobility issues are just that: mobility issues.

According to HealthinAging.org, mobility problems can include “unsteadiness while walking, difficulty getting in and out of a chair, or falls.”

They list “weakness, joint problems, pain” as the most common causes of such issues, but do say they can also be brought on by “disease, and neurological (brain and nervous system) difficulties.”

Buckingham Palace has not revealed what is causing the Queen's mobility problems, and is unlikely to do so due to privacy concerns.

The term “episodic” could indicate that the Queen has moments of good mobility and periods of poor mobility.

This could explain why Buckingham Palace has recently held off on announcing whether the Queen will attend events until the day before, in order to gauge her mood on a daily basis.

This article originally appeared on NationalWorld.