LONDON –
Queen Elizabeth II, who was forced to miss the traditional formal opening of Parliament earlier this week, appeared publicly on Friday to attend a horse show near her home.
The Queen, 96, missed Tuesday’s big transference ceremony in Parliament over what Buckingham Palace described as “episodic mobility problems”.
She has rarely been seen in public since she was hospitalized for a night with an unspecified illness last October and then told by her doctors to rest. Since then she has completed tasks either remotely or in person at her home at Windsor Castle.
But on Friday she was seen smiling happily from the passenger seat of her Range Rover car as she watched some of her horses compete at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, held in the private grounds of her chateau.
She later took her place in the stands to be applauded by the crowd and walked with the help of a cane.
Among the four days of Windsor events that began on Thursday is ‘A Gallop Through History’, which features more than 500 horses and 1000 performers and is designed to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
The final takes place on Sunday when the Queen is expected, with actors Tom Cruise and Helen Mirren among the British and international stars who will attend. Many of the Queen’s great-grandchildren also get tips from the media for an appearance.
It begins with celebrations of her platinum anniversary, which will culminate in four days of national events starting June 2nd.
It was announced on Thursday that an amaretti snack with lemon and Swiss roll had been crowned the winner of a “Platinum Pudding” contest, beating out 5,000 other entries.
reporting by Michael Holden; Adaptation by William James
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