Highland Games set to be opened by Prince Charles in Queen's absence
Prince Charles set to open Highland Games after Queen, 96, pulled out of attending one her ‘favourite’ events ‘for her comfort’
- Queen will not attend Braemar Gathering but Prince Charles who normally accompanies her will still be there
- Highland Games are often attended by the Queen and PM and are usually a highlight in monarch’s calendar
- Until now, the Queen has never missed the Highland Games – held near Balmoral – during entire 70-year reign
The Braemar Gathering is set to get underway this weekend but, despite the event being a favourite of the Royal Family, the Queen will not be in attendance due to concerns for her mobility.
Before today, the Queen had never missed the games in her 70-year reign but due to concerns for her comfort, Prince Charles will attend in her stead.
The announcement comes after Her Majesty was said to have been ‘carefully considering’ whether she was fit enough to attend the event as she continues to struggle to walk.
However, for the first time in the event’s history, it will be live streamed online so her majesty will be able to watch from the comfort of Balmoral.
Reports suggest it may be the pavilion where her majesty would have traditionally sat may be a factor in the decision to miss the event this year.
In previous years, the Queen has enjoyed the world-famous even from the Royal Pavilion which has a series of at least ten steps leading up to it which would have to be navigated by anyone hoping to take their seat in the box.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast from Braemar this morning, Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell said he didn’t believe the Queen’s absence was something to be concerned about.
He said: ‘She is a lady of 96 and frankly what 96-year-old doesn’t have some health concerns?
‘I think the important thing is has there been any significant change in her health in recent weeks and my understanding is that there hasn’t.
‘We saw at the time of the Platinum jubilee weekend that she was unable to attend various events then because of this mobility issue that she has, because of her comfort as palace officials describe it and that’s the situation here at the moment.
‘So she this afternoon will remain at Balmoral where she’s on her summer break while other members of the Royal Family will be here and in that little pavilion.
‘I think possibly one of the reasons why the Queen won’t be coming is because there’s a little bit of a climb up to that so as close as the Range Rover can get her, she would still have to climb up those steps and I think that would be one of the factors weighing in their minds.’
The decision will prompt fresh fears about the Queen’s health, just two days after Buckingham Palace said she would remain in Scotland to appoint a new prime minister at Balmoral for the first time in her reign.
The Braemar Gathering is set to get underway today but, despite the event being a favourite of the Royal Family, the Queen will not be in attendance due to concerns for her mobility. Pictured: The Queen opens a new building at Thames Hospice in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on July 15, 2022 (left); and attends an Armed Forces Act of Loyalty Parade on June 28 (right)
Reports have suggested that the steep steps up to the royal box may have played a factor in whether the Queen attended
The Highland Games, which are often attended by the Queen and the prime minister of the day, are usually a highlight in the monarch’s calendar. They are held at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar.
But royal sources confirmed yesterday that there were two main issues in terms of the Queen’s attendance – firstly getting her to the games, but also that she would have to sit in public for a long period of time to watch them.
The Games are classed as a ‘private’ event in Her Majesty’s calendar and not a public engagement. It is understood that the monarch had originally hoped she would be at the event which begins this morning shortly before midday.
Until now, the Queen has never missed the Highland Games during her 70-year reign, following a tradition of the monarch attending which was started by Queen Victoria 174 years ago in 1848.
The event is held a short distance from where Her Majesty is staying on her annual summer at the Balmoral Castle estate in Aberdeenshire.
The Highland Games is known for being one of the Queen’s favourite engagements, and she has often been photographed there laughing and smiling with other members of her family as they watch on from the Royal Box.
THe Queen with Prince Charles, Camilla, Autumn Phillips and Peter Phillips at the Braemar Gathering on September 7, 2019
The Lonach Pipe Band march through Braemar during a scaled-back Braemar Gathering due to Covid on September 4, 2021
The Highland dancing competition takes placec during the 2019 Braemar Highland Games, 2019 in Braemar, Scotland
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip laugh as they watch the games during the Braemar Gathering on September 6, 2008
This year’s competition – which will see contestants battle it out in caber-tossing and tug-of-war in front of spectators – is the first to be held since the start of the pandemic.
This year for the first time, organisers are trialling a live stream online.
Organisers said: ‘We are passionate about our traditions, heritage and history and we are excited that we can reach new and old audiences to share those with you.’
The Queen, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this year, is on her traditional summer break in the Scottish Highlands, but has faced health issues since last autumn.
She now regularly uses a walking stick, but rallied to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony for her Jubilee.
Her traditional welcome to Balmoral Castle earlier in August was held privately for her ‘comfort’.
The monarch traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming premiers at Buckingham Palace.
But Boris Johnson, who will tender his resignation, and the new Conservative Party leader who will be asked to form a government – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – will travel to Balmoral Castle – a 1,000-mile round trip – for the key audiences next Tuesday instead.
It is believed to be the first time in the monarch’s 70 years on the throne that she has conducted the historic duty away from Buckingham Palace.
A Palace spokesman confirmed the decision over the Prime Minister audiences on Wednesday and it is understood it was taken at this stage in order to provide certainty for the Prime Minister’s diary.
If the Queen had experienced an episodic mobility issue next week and the plan had been to travel to London or Windsor, it would have led to alternative arrangements at the last minute.
The Sun reported at the weekend that the Prince of Wales had been making regular morning visits to see his mother as she continues to struggle with her mobility, with the unplanned visits considered highly unusual.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said: ‘The fact officials can’t be sure the Queen will be well enough to travel next week is yet another reminder of her advanced age and increasing frailty.
‘Despite this, the Queen remains determined to carry out her core duties.
‘Appointing a new prime minister is not something that can easily be passed to Prince Charles, a king-in-waiting.’
Buckingham Palace declined to give an ongoing commentary on the monarch’s health.
The audiences will take place in Balmoral’s green-carpeted Drawing Room, which has matching green sofas, a leaf-patterned fabric chair, an open fire and a number of equine-themed antique paintings on the walls.
Mr Johnson said arrangements for the handover to the new prime minister will be down to the Queen and ‘fit totally around her and whatever she wants’.
The politician told reporters during a visit to Barrow-in-Furness: ‘I don’t talk about my conversations with the Queen, no prime minister ever does.’
In 2019, after a private audience with the Queen in which he accepted her invitation to form a government and become PM, Mr Johnson revealed to a reporter that the monarch had quipped: ‘I don’t know why anyone would want the job.’
The Queen will also hold a virtual Privy Council meeting the following day, rather than an in-person one, where the new PM will be sworn in as First Lord of the Treasury among other business.
During her Jubilee celebrations, the Queen only travelled to Buckingham Palace twice – first for her Trooping the Colour balcony appearance and then for a finale after the pageant.
She spends most of her time at Windsor Castle, 22 miles from central London, living there during the pandemic and while major renovations take place at Buckingham Palace.
As head of state, it is the Queen’s duty to appoint the prime minister who leads Her Majesty’s Government.
The Royal Encyclopedia states that the appointment of a prime minister is ‘one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign’.
The monarch does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before calling upon the leader with an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons to form a government.
Either Ms Truss or Mr Sunak will be the 15th prime minister of the Queen’s reign.
After a new premier has been appointed, the Court Circular will record that ‘the Prime Minister kissed hands on appointment’. This is not literally the case, and it is usually a handshake.
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