Elizabeth II
Full at work, but suddenly on the stick: How is the Queen?
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with a walking stick in Wales this week. Photo: Jacob King / PA Wire / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For many Britons, these are unfamiliar images of their queen. For no apparent medical reason, the Queen recently used a walking stick. Is there any cause for concern?
It’s just an everyday tool, and yet the eyes of an entire nation are focused on it: Queen Elizabeth II uses a stick! The British Queen used the utensil twice within a few days.
The rather old age – the Queen has been 95 years old since April – should offer a simple explanation. But since the sprightly monarch, whose accession to the throne will be the 70th anniversary of the coming year, had always shown herself without a stick, the detail caught the eye all the more.
The queen doesn’t show anything. “Stiff upper lip” – “grit your teeth” and show stamina – is their proven motto. But for Royals fans it is definitely a reminder that even the Queen, who was already alive when the overwhelming number of her subjects was born and without whom many Britons cannot even imagine their country, is not immortal.
Elizabeth’s beloved husband, Prince Philip, died in April at the age of 99. His death, if not unexpected, was a severe blow to the Queen, according to comments from the Royal Family. The younger sister Margaret died in 2002, shortly afterwards her mother Elizabeth, the «Queen Mum». It is an open secret that there are already plans for “D-Day”, the anniversary of the Queen’s death.
How long Elizabeth has been on the throne can be seen particularly well in her eldest son, who will one day succeed her. Prince Charles will soon be 73 years old, he is both the oldest and the longest-serving “heir apparent”, ie heir to the throne, in British history. Few in Great Britain believe that he will forego the royal crown. Because then, according to my aristocracy experts in London, he would lose a lot of reputation – after all, his mother consistently fulfills her duties even in old age and always emphasizes that she will fill her role to the last breath. Even after the death of her husband, she hardly took a break.
And so Elizabeth II was also on duty this week. On Tuesday: memorial service at Westminster Abbey, accompanied by daughter Princess Anne – and with a stick! It seemed unexcited and used to, but the detail was worth its own report even to serious media, even the PA news agency made its report with the news. “It is believed that she used a walker for the first time at an official public event,” reported PA. The Queen last walked with a stick almost 20 years ago. But at the time she was recovering from knee surgery.
However, the head of state is obviously not permanently dependent on the walking aid. One day after the service, the Queen received the pianist Imogen Cooper in her London residence Buckingham Palace – without a stick, as was observed. The aid was back in her hand on Thursday when the monarch opened the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff.
They are little helpers who are supposed to offer the Queen more comfort, even in view of her busy schedule, as the British media emphasize. For several years now, she has no longer wore the heavy crown at the traditional opening of parliament.
“When you consider that she is 95, it is extraordinary, even if she leads a privileged life,” commented Sky News reporter Rhiannon Mills. The floor, the stop at a door closer to its intended place, an elevator ride, all tailor-made. The Guardian referred to reports from 2018, according to which the Queen still had knee pain. However, she did without a new operation – because it was too time-consuming.
The message that the media also spread: Nobody has to worry about the Queen. “The Queen looks radiant in pink,” said the Daily Mail newspaper about the visit to Wales. The verdict: “Royally reliable.”