Royal Experts and Correspondents Say the Palace Has Been “Misleading” About the Queen’s Health
Queen Elizabeth II’s health has been getting a lot of attention lately. She’s already Britain’s longest-reigning monarch (a title she’s held since 2015, when she passed Queen Victoria’s record) and she’s scheduled to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee (marking the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the throne) next year. As anticipation for this new milestone grows, so does concern about Elizabeth’s well-being and the possibility that she could pass away before the Jubilee.
That’s part of why royal fans were so rocked last week when news broke that the Queen had spent a night in the hospital. Buckingham Palace confirmed the hospitalization (which came after the monarch canceled a planned trip to Northern Ireland) in a statement on Wednesday that read:
“The Queen has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for the next few days. Her Majesty is in good spirits and is disappointed that she will no longer be able to visit Northern Ireland, where she had been due to undertake a series of engagements today and tomorrow. The Queen sends her warmest good wishes to the people of Northern Ireland and looks forward to visiting in the future.”
On Thursday, a palace spokesperson added:
“Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains in good spirits.”
As The Sun reports, several royal experts, correspondents, and journalists have since voiced concerns about the way the palace has handled sharing information about the Queen’s health. BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, for example, said that the media and the public “weren’t given the complete picture.”
“The problem, it seems to me, is that rumor and misinformation always thrive in the absence of proper, accurate, and trustworthy information,” he added.
While some have acknowledged that the Queen’s privacy rights are also an issue, many royal experts and correspondents also pointed out the public interest at play considering the Queen’s role as head of state.
“Nick Witchell makes some pertinent points here: The Queen is entitled to privacy on medical matters, but she is our head of state and was in hospital overnight,” Daily Mail royal correspondent Rebecca English tweeted along with a video of Witchell discussing the situation. “Buckingham Palace’s statement she was resting at Windsor wasn’t true. It should have been clarified after her discharge.”
Nick Witchell makes some pertinent points here: the Queen is entitled to privacy on medical matters, but she is our head of state and was in hospital overnight.Buckingham Palace’s statement she was resting at Windsor wasn’t true. It should have been clarified after her discharge https://t.co/uwKjw13a7P
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) October 22, 2021
“They did mislead the media,” royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward explained (per The Sun). “I think they were trying to protect the Queen because she would not have wanted a fuss, but it was misleading.”
A few days before her hospitalization, news broke that the Queen had decided to give up alcohol at the advice of her doctors. All we can really do is hope that Elizabeth is doing well now and that she has several healthy and happy years ahead of her.
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