If there’s one thing that the British are known for it’s their stiff-upper-lip attitude, and no one maintains their composure as well as Her Majesty the Queen. So, as the world continues to dissect every aspect of Prince Harry and Meghan’s recent resignation from senior royal life, it was business as usual for the monarch who was pictured attending a church service in Sandringham on Sunday.
But, while the monarch’s attendance at church is nothing out of the ordinary, given her strong personal faith and role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, it was the Queen’s new accessory that captured people’s attention as the 93-year-old was pictured wearing a hearing aid in public for the first time.
As Queen Elizabeth arrived at St Mary Magdalene’s church in Norfolk, a small hearing device – believed to be a CIC (completely in canal) aid – could be seen in the monarch’s right ear. While hearing loss in later life is not unusual, the Queen is renowned for her incredible bill of clean health, having rarely taken ill in recent years.
Less than two years ago, she also underwent cataract surgery. However, true to her strong work ethic, the Queen did not miss a single engagement, with the only sign that she had undergone surgery being that she was forced to wear glasses with dark tinted lenses.
The Queen was joined at the service yesterday by her grandson Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, who tends to avoid the limelight and has never held a royal title. According to the Daily Mail, when asked how his grandmother is holding up, he replied that she is “alright”.
Her Majesty is expected to hold crisis talks with her son and heir Prince Charles, along with both of his sons Prince Harry and Prince William, on Monday as the British royal family scramble to come up with a solution to the current situation after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would be taking a step back in 2020.
It has also been widely reported that Meghan – who returned to Canada at the end of last week to be reunite with eight-month-old baby Archie – will participate in the meeting via telephone.
The royal couple, who only returned to the UK last week following a six-week break in Canada, released a statement on their official Sussex Royal Instagram account on Wednesday in which they confirmed that they wanted to carve out “a progressive new role within the institution” by balancing their time between the UK and North America.
The statement continued: “This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.
“We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”
A short statement was then released by Buckingham Palace on behalf of the royal family, which said only that discussions with the couple were at an early stage. It read: “We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”