The Queen will miss the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 60 years, as she continues to suffer with “episodic mobility problems”.
The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on her behalf and at her request – the first time he has taken on such a major constitutional duty, Buckingham Palace announced.
It is only the third time the Queen, 96, has not attended the ceremonial occasion during her reign. In 1959 and in 1963, when she was pregnant with the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex respectively, the Lord Chancellor delivered the speech.
