The Queen cancels traditional welcome to Balmoral Castle as she battles 'mobility issues'
8 August 2022, 07:30
The Queen has replaced the traditional Balmoral welcome ceremony with a "small private event" this week amid mobility issues.
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The monarch, 96, had been planning to attended the event until yesterday when it was cancelled and replaced with a small gathering inside the Castle gates.
Buckingham Palace said the private event was "in line with adapting Her Majesty's schedule for her comfort".
A royal source told The Mirror: 'The traditional welcome to Balmoral is normally cemented in the Queen's calendar and something Her Majesty really enjoys, being able to greet locals who travel to see her.
"It's a bitter disappointment the ceremony will not take place in its traditional form."
The Queen arrived at the Aberdeenshire estate in late July and is set to stay for 10-weeks.
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The monarch has been forced to cancel a number of Royal appearances in recent months as she battles "mobility issues".
The 96-year-old monarch has been using a walking stick in public, including at the memorial service for her late husband Prince Philip.
Her Majesty pulled out of a Commonwealth Games appearance and the summer royal garden parties this year whilst she was seen in a golf buggy at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Read more: Queen 'will miss Commonwealth Games' due to ongoing mobility issues
She reached her Platinum Jubilee in February, overcame a bout of Covid after testing positive that month, and celebrated her 96th birthday privately on April 21 at her Sandringham estate.
Mobility problems also stopped the Queen attending every event in her Platinum Jubilee celebration.
But her appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony for a military flypast on Thursday delighted onlookers, who cheered as she appeared with her family.
She later made a surprise appearance on Sunday, the final day of the long jubilee weekend.
The monarch also thrilled audiences with a pre-recorded vignette featuring Paddington Bear.
The polite Peruvian bear thanks her for her service as the two sit down for tea in the clip, with the Queen revealing she also keeps a marmalade sandwich close at hand.
