Queen Elizabeth's Duties Formally Revised Amid Mobility Issues
By Paige Gawley 12:47 PM PDT, July 5, 2022
Queen Elizabeth's duties are changing. The 96-year-old monarch's duties have been revised as she entrusts more to her son, Prince Charles, ET confirms.
Her Majesty’s "official duties" were outlined in the palace’s annual Sovereign Grant report released last week, and the list of duties she "must fulfill" has been removed to lighten the Queen’s workload.
Several duties like the State Opening of Parliament will now be supported by her family, increasingly Charles, the future king, who has been standing in for his mother as she deals with "episodic mobility issues." Prince William, the second in line to the throne, is also expected to undertake more duties on behalf of his grandmother.
This is the first time in over a decade that there has been a formal change to the monarch's responsibilities, Vanity Fair reports.
The change in the Queen's duties comes amid her ongoing mobility issues. In May, the Queen missed the Opening of Parliament due to "episodic mobility problems," Buckingham Palace previously told ET.
The next month, during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Queen Elizabeth sat out several events, after experiencing "some discomfort" at the Trooping the Colour.
She did, however, make a surprise appearance to close out the four-day-long festivities, which were held to mark her 70 years on the throne. Weeks later, Queen Elizabeth appeared in public once again, stepping out in Edinburgh, Scotland, amid Holyrood Week.