The Queen was forced to pull out of a planned service at St Paul’s Cathedral just days ago due to illness, but she’s made a full recovery and looked happy and healthy as she travelled to Scotland for an ancient ceremony on Monday.
The monarch shone out in her favourite yellow as she arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for the traditional ‘Ceremony of the Keys’. It is an annual tradition to formally begin Holyrood week in Edinburgh, and the Queen flashed a beaming smile as she took centre stage.
Her Majesty was pictured as she was handed the keys to the city, while being greeted by Edinburgh Lord Provost Frank Ross. Meanwhile, a guard of honour at the palace was formed by Balaklava Company, The Argyll and Sunderland Highlanders and 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
And the bagpipes and drums performance was put on by the incredible The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland with music by the Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkvXLEZHL4o/?hl=en&taken-by=theroyalfamily
While the Queen wrapped up in a yellow overcoat, she kept her legs in stockings and soaked up some rare sun in the Scottish city – smiling and greeting passers by as she walked along the front of the display.
The Lord Provost could later be heard saying: “We, the Lord Provost & the members of the City of Edinburgh District Council, welcome your Majesty to the capital city of your ancient and hereditary kingdom of Scotland and offer for your gracious acceptance the keys of Your Majesty’s good City of Edinburgh”.
As tradition states, she then replied: “I return these keys, being perfectly convinced that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh”.
She appeared to have made a full recovery after last week’s illness, which saw her miss a service at St Paul’s. A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said at the time: “The Queen is feeling under the weather today and has decided not to attend this morning’s service at St Paul’s Cathedral marking the 200th anniversary of the Order of Michael and St George.
“Her Majesty will be represented by the Duke of Kent as the grand master of the order.”
Earlier this year, Queen Elizabeth was pictured wearing dark sunglasses on a series of public outings, before the Palace revealed she had undergone cataract surgery in May. True to her usual stiff-upper-lip style and strong work ethic, however, the Queen didn’t miss a single official engagement, powering through her duties without a pause.
The Sun noted that the monarch is known for her robust constitution, having in 2013 had her first hospital stay in a decade after contracting gastroenteritis. But cataracts – cloudy patches on the lens of the eye that impair vision and can’t be remedied with glasses – are known to be hereditary and to develop with age, and the Queen Mother also had surgery in 1995 to remove a cataract at the age of 95.
Cataract removal operations aren’t considered particularly serious and can sometimes be done under local anaesthetic. The surgery involves the removal of the afflicted lens, which is replaced by an artificial lens, and usually results in only a short recovery time, although there may be a longer period before the person is considered fit to drive.