Queen ‘reluctantly’ cancels NI trip on doctor’s orders
POLITICAL leaders have wished Queen Elizabeth well following the cancellation of her visit to Northern Ireland this week.
The Queen had been due yesterday to visit Royal Hillsborough, Co, Down, the first village or town in Northern Ireland to be granted royal status.
She was scheduled to meet with locals including schoolchildren and then to attend today’s church service in Armagh to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland’s formation.
But the trip was cancelled after the Queen ‘reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days’, Buckingham Palace said.
The Queen, 95, is said to be in good spirits but disappointed not to be able to carry out the two-day trip.
The church service in Armagh became the centre of a row last month after President Michael D Higgins declined an invitation to attend the event.
He said the title of the event – Service of Reflection and Hope to mark the Centenary of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland – was not a ‘neutral statement politically’.
The Irish government will be represented at the service by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Chief Whip Jack Chambers.
Minister Coveney insisted on Monday that attending the controversial church service to mark 100 years since the partition of Ireland is ‘the right thing to do’.
The government’s decision to accept the invitation to the controversial event after President Higgins’ decision has sparked backlash among opposition parties.
Meanwhile, the Queen is now resting at Windsor Castle and is still expected at this stage to attend events linked to the Cop26 event at the end of this month.
A royal source said there was ‘no cause for caution’ about the Queen’s health – and her decision is understood not to be related to coronavirus. Her condition has not been revealed.
Britain’s secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis tweeted: ‘Wishing Her Majesty The Queen all the very best as she takes a few days’ rest. I look forward to meeting her in Northern Ireland in the future.’
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson also tweeted his best wishes.