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Queen Elizabeth to skip COP26 after hospital stay

The 95-year-old monarch has been given medical advice to rest, Buckingham Palace has said.
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Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the COP26 climate conference in Scotland next week after she received medical advice to rest following a recent hospital stay, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday.

The palace said in a statement that the queen had "regretfully decided" that she will no longer travel to the event in Glasgow in accordance with medical advice.

"Her Majesty is disappointed not to attend the reception," Buckingham Palace said, adding that she would instead deliver a recorded video address.

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Elizabeth, 95, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, stayed at London’s King Edward VII private hospital last Wednesday after she underwent “preliminary investigations” for an unspecified ailment, which was not related to Covid-19.

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It was the queen’s first overnight hospital stay in years. Officials said she was in good spirits after the visit, returning to light duties upon her return to Windsor Castle the next day.

Image: Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II appears on a screen from Windsor Castle during a virtual audience to receive Gunn Kim, South Korea's ambassador, at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday.Victoria Jones / Pool via AP

Earlier Tuesday, Buckingham Palace announced that Elizabeth had also conducted her first official engagements since her hospital stay.

The queen held virtual audiences to welcome the new ambassadors to Britain from South Korea and Switzerland.

Elizabeth canceled another planned official trip to Northern Ireland last week after her medical team suggested that she rest.