For the Queen to pull out of such an important event commemorating our heroic war dead will have been the most awful wrench.
There are very few dates cemented in Her Majesty's calendar and Remembrance Sunday, and indeed the weekend of commemorations surrounding it, is top of the pile.
It is of some comfort that we are told the Queen has the "firm intention" of leading the nation at the Cenotaph on November 14, but after recent days of announcements of cancelled events it is now surely in the balance.
The Queen’s relentless schedule of late would let anyone half or even a third of her age shudder.
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Travelling 1,000 miles, across three countries, dozens of virtual and private meetings on top of a whole host of programming ahead of her Platinum Jubilee next year.
In essence, she needs a well earned rest.
Just how long that is enforced, which is seemingly the case for now as doctors continue to instruct her to clear her diary to get back to full health, no one knows.
Now more than ever, it is time for her heirs and the rest of the family to step up and take the reins, while the Queen for once puts herself first above all else.
