Senior royals have vowed to step in and help with the Queen’s diary “for as long as is needed”, as courtiers are set to scale down the monarch’s engagements until the spring, sources have revealed.
Her Majesty is continuing to rest at Windsor Castle after she was forced to pull out of attending the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph.
Buckingham Palace moved to dampen fears over her condition after announcing the 95-year-old had suffered an “unfortunate” back strain, which left her “deeply disappointed” to miss the event.
Courtiers are now understood to now be taking a “cautious approach” with the sovereign’s diary moving forward, with no public engagements expected for the rest of the year.
Insiders with knowledge of the conversations said there should be a “realistic expectation” that the Queen’s diary will be dramatically reduced throughout the winter months.
Any rearranging could open up the possibility of asking any one of the seven senior royals to step in and take on extra roles or engagements.
Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Anne and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are all understood to be aligned on helping out “for as long as is needed”.
Courtiers have said this “joined up approach” will take on “extra significance” in the Queen’s absence leading up to her Platinum Jubilee next year.
Somewhat tongue in cheek, palace officials have dubbed them the “Magnificent Seven” when referring to the group.
Palace officials have insisted the Queen has “no intention of stepping back” from royal duties but realises she will undertake less duties in the future.
The Queen has been on doctors’ orders to rest for nearly a month after being admitted to hospital for preliminary investigations - her first overnight stay in a medical facility in eight years - on October 20.
One royal source said: “The Queen remains as sharp as a pin, but the reality is she needs to take a period of rest following an extremely busy start to normal duties after the coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
“The senior members of the family are all aligned in that they will be available to help out wherever they can and for as long as is needed.”
Earlier this year after the furore over Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s split from The Firm the Queen vowed a “new beginning” for the royals after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose mega-money deals over duty.
At the time Her Majesty, 95, gave the go-ahead for the seven senior royals to take up public engagements as soon as possible.
The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Princess Royal have in recent times taken on investitures on behalf of the Queen, handing out gongs at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
Apart from awarding fundraising and war veteran hero Sir Captain Tom Moore his knighthood last summer at Windsor Castle, the Queen’s last investiture was at Buckingham Palace in November 2019, when she awarded honours to more than 65 people.
A palace spokesman said the Queen would continue to undertake “light duties” while recovering from her bad back and is due to carry out virtual audiences in a few days’ time.
The Queen also has cancelled a scheduled appearance on Tuesday at the General Synod - the first time the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, has missed her five-yearly visit to the Church’s national assembly in its 51-year history.
As she continues to take it easy this week, the coming weekend marks a difficult milestone for the Queen.
Saturday would have been the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 74th wedding anniversary - and it will be the first anniversary of their marriage to pass since Philip died in April at the age of 99.
A source said: “The Queen has been and continues to be hugely comforted by many of her family rallying round this year and will no doubt be looking forward to being together for Christmas this year.”
Charles and Camilla’s Middle East tour
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will kick off their tour of Jordan and Egypt on Tuesday.
It will be the first overseas visit by a senior royal family member since the pandemic began.
They will arrive in Jordan’s capital Amman and meet King Abdullah II and Queen Rania to mark the country’s centenary and its relationship with Britain.
Charles, 73, will highlight the nation’s role in sheltering 650,000 Syrian refugees and two million Palestinians.
Camilla is to learn about the work of Queen Rania in helping the vulnerable and take part in a Women of the World event.
The tour coincides with the end of Britain’s hosting of COP26 and Egypt’s nomination to stage the UN climate summit next year.
The royals will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Grand Imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar and also celebrate Britain’s links with the country. A reception will be staged overlooking the pyramids at the Giza Plateau.
The royal couple will also tour the ancient city of Alexandria.
They are to have talks about religious tolerance and the role of faith in environmental issues.
