be postponed,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The reception is an annual event, where the Queen and other members of the Royal Family host hundreds of ambassadors and high commissioners at the royal residence in Windsor.
According to reports, the gathering was cancelled over the conflict in Ukraine rather than Her Majesty’s recent COVID diagnosis. Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the monarch had contracted the viral disease and was experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms. She will receive medical attention and follow all appropriate guidelines as she continues to perform light duties at Windsor, the Palace said.
Her Majesty’s COVID diagnosis has raised concern owing to her advanced age and a recent health scare that left her in hospital late last year. Over the past week, Her Majesty cancelled several virtual meetings, a source told the Daily Mail, the engagements were delayed because the Queen’s voice sounded a “little croaky”. While the Queen “understandably still sounds full of cold”, she was “on the mend,” the source said. “Family are confident she will make a full recovery,” one insider told the newspaper. Her next scheduled public engagement is the annual Commonwealth Service, which is due to be held at Westminster Abbey on 14 March, in honour of Commonwealth forces who fought in world wars.
