Queen Elizabeth II has made quite the morbid joke during her recent meeting with defence service personnel at Windsor Castle, which marks the Queen’s first in-person engagement since her close brush with Covid-19.
On Wednesday, February 16, the Queen, 95, met with departing Defense Services Secretary Rear Admiral James Macleod and his replacement Major General Eldon Millar.
In a video taken of the meeting, The Queen is heard greeting the officials, comedically declaring “Hah I’m here!” as they entered the room to meet her.
The officials then greeted the Queen and asked how she was, to which she responded with morbid humour.
“Well, as you can see, I can’t move,” she joked, gesturing to her feet as she held onto her cane.
The Queen’s health has been in question for some time now after multiple reports of her impending health issues were made public.
The Queen spent a night in hospital in October last year and was forced to cancel her trip to Northern Ireland after being warned from doctors to slow down and walk less. It was around this time that she’d first been seen using a walking stick.
In November the same year, the Queen pulled out of a Remembrance Day commemoration just hours before she was due to attend the service after the Palace issued a statement that she had sprained her back.
She also cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch as a major Covid-19 surge gripped the United Kingdom and spent her annual festive break at Sandringham where she was joined by a small number of loved ones.
Concerns for the Queen’s health were made worse with the recent news of her son, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall testing positive for Covid-19. On Thursday, February 10, Prince Charles was reported Covid-19 positive for the second time with Camilla following suit soon after, testing positive for the virus just four days later.
And that’s not the only concern for the royal family, with the ongoing allegations against Prince Andrew having caused considerable damage to the monarch’s reputation.
But Prince Andrew isn’t the only royal under fire, with an official statement released by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, February 16, detailing that The Prince’s Foundation, a charity run by Prince Charles, is being investigated for alleged involvement in securing citizenship, and honours, for a Saudi national.
Despite this, the Queen has been reported at multiple events sporting her usual light-hearted, happy energy, and fans are delighted to see her in such high spirits.
The monarch recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee where she enjoyed multiple engagements and events dedicated to the milestone.