COP26: Queen will not attend climate change conference in Glasgow

The Queen will not attend the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow after being advised to rest, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The Queen will not attend the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The 95-year-old monarch was due to travel to Scotland for the high-profile engagement on Monday November 1.

However, a Palace spokesman said on Tuesday afternoon: “Following advice to rest, The Queen has been undertaking light duties at Windsor Castle.

“Her Majesty has regretfully decided that she will no longer travel to Glasgow to attend the evening reception of Cop26 on Monday, 1st November.

“Her Majesty is disappointed not to attend the reception but will deliver an address to the assembled delegates via a recorded video message.”

The news comes after the head of state had to cancel her two-day trip to Northern Ireland earlier this month under medical advice.

She faced preliminary tests in hospital on October 20 during her first overnight stay at a medical facility in eight years.

However, on Tuesday, the Queen returned to work by carrying out virtual audiences from Windsor Castle.

The Queen is following previous advice of undertaking rest and light duties and she remains in good spirits.

Following on from her virtual audiences with Gunn Kim, ambassador from the Republic of Korea, and the Swiss ambassador Markus Leitner, the Queen is expecting a call from the Chancellor on Tuesday evening.

Rishi Sunak will speak to the Queen on the eve of his Budget, a tradition dating back some years.

The monarch is also expected to carry out light engagements in the coming days.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.