General News for Queen Elizabeth II: April 2021 - September 2022


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King Carl Gustaf and queen Silvia are in UK yesterday and today for work events. And it has been previously written at the swedish media, that the king and queen could meet queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

Svensk Damtidning just wrote:
The royal couple can't meet queen Elizabeth as planned during their stay in London. The royal court reveals this to Svensk Damtidning.
Now the court comes with a sad message, Elizabeth is not well enough to receive the royal couple at Windsor Castle.
"For the sake of the Queen's health, no meeting during this trip in London", writes Margareta Thorgren, director of the press department, in a text message.
Kungaparet stoppas – drottning Elizabeth ställer in _*Svensk Dam
 
King Carl Gustaf and queen Silvia are in UK yesterday and today for work events. And it has been previously written at the swedish media, that the king and queen could meet queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

Svensk Damtidning just wrote:
The royal couple can't meet queen Elizabeth as planned during their stay in London. The royal court reveals this to Svensk Damtidning.
Now the court comes with a sad message, Elizabeth is not well enough to receive the royal couple at Windsor Castle.
"For the sake of the Queen's health, no meeting during this trip in London", writes Margareta Thorgren, director of the press department, in a text message.
Kungaparet stoppas – drottning Elizabeth ställer in _*Svensk Dam


Strange. Only a few days ago she has received the Emir of Qatar at Windsor. Why should that not also be possible for the King and Queen of Sweden.
 
King Carl Gustaf and queen Silvia are in UK yesterday and today for work events. And it has been previously written at the swedish media, that the king and queen could meet queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

Svensk Damtidning just wrote:
The royal couple can't meet queen Elizabeth as planned during their stay in London. The royal court reveals this to Svensk Damtidning.
Now the court comes with a sad message, Elizabeth is not well enough to receive the royal couple at Windsor Castle.
"For the sake of the Queen's health, no meeting during this trip in London", writes Margareta Thorgren, director of the press department, in a text message.
Kungaparet stoppas – drottning Elizabeth ställer in _*Svensk Dam

It is strange that Queen Elizabeth II is not well to receive the Kings of Sweden. I just hope the queen is okay.
 
It is strange that Queen Elizabeth II is not well to receive the Kings of Sweden. I just hope the queen is okay.

Given the queen's age and health issues I wouldn't say its strange ,the queen may have been well enough a few days ago but this may not be the case today.
 
Strange. Only a few days ago she has received the Emir of Qatar at Windsor. Why should that not also be possible for the King and Queen of Sweden.


Because she isn't well enough today. To be fair, the Swedish Court told the press before that this meeting for tea today would only take place if the Queen was well enough. The British Court has also said before that they can't say in advance on which days the Queen will be well enough to attend events or meetings.

It's really not strange, she is 96 years old and not well. It is clear that she can't keep going as she did before. We need to remember that she has lived & worked a full schedule far beyond the age where most people are able to anyhow.

Recently, she attended quite a few events and meetings again, perhaps that has exhausted her.
 
Because she isn't well enough today. To be fair, the Swedish Court told the press before that this meeting for tea today would only take place if the Queen was well enough. The British Court has also said before that they can't say in advance on which days the Queen will be well enough to attend events or meetings.

It's really not strange, she is 96 years old and not well. It is clear that she can't keep going as she did before. We need to remember that she has lived & worked a full schedule far beyond the age where most people are able to anyhow.

Recently, she attended quite a few events and meetings again, perhaps that has exhausted her.


I know thast she is 96a and not well. But we have been told that it are mainly mobility Issues and at home this should be not a big problem.
 
I imagine a big part of her being well enough is simply whether she feels like it or not. Ethan’s she just doesn’t feel like it.
 
And here we are. She went to Balmoral. Perhaps health wise she wasn’t up for the meeting. Also perhaps she just didn’t want to do it and instead wanted to spend time in Balmoral before the Jubilee celebrations. Not sure there is much of a difference for a woman of her age—health or she just doesn’t want to do it. She’s much earned the right to do what she wants now.

 
And here we are. She went to Balmoral. Perhaps health wise she wasn’t up for the meeting. Also perhaps she just didn’t want to do it and instead wanted to spend time in Balmoral before the Jubilee celebrations. Not sure there is much of a difference for a woman of her age—health or she just doesn’t want to do it. She’s much earned the right to do what she wants now.

She'd probably do anything to avoid Silvia and her jacket from yesterday
 
Given her age, I don’t think any explanation is required when she doesn’t attend an event. She’s earned the right to pick and choose what she wants to do. If she’s feeling unwell she should obviously stay home, but I think if she’s having a good day and wants to relax at home instead of attending an official event, that’s fine too.
 
I imagine a big part of her being well enough is simply whether she feels like it or not. Ethan’s she just doesn’t feel like it.

I don't think 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' should be the main consideration for a head of state to decide whether she is going to meet another head of state. If she decides to stay in the position (she could theoretically decide to step down), she should be expected to put duty ahead of pleasure.

And it makes you wonder why she is happy to meet the emir of Qatar and not the king of Sweden (who also happens to be her 3rd cousin (both by his father and mother) - again, if it was all about 'feeling like it' - and not about exhaustion.

Carl Gustaf - Gustav Adolf - Margaret of Connaught - Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert
Carl Gustaf - Sybilla - Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Leopold, Duke of Albany - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert

Elizabeth - George VI - George V - Edward VII - Victoria/Albert


I've seen this argument of not being to harsh on an old queen/person used in other (non-royal) discussions as well and while I understand them somewhat because who would want to require/pressure someone who is way too old to take on all the responsibilities to keep going (in this or another position) and not let loose - but I personally think that if someone is no longer up to the job he/she should face that reality and hand it over to someone who can instead of lowering expectations for the position itself.
 
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Perhaps because the emir of Qatar is a diplomatic duty and her third cousin will understand?
 
The King and Queen of Sweden were not on an official visit. Them visiting the Queen at Windsor is old friends and family meeting as old friends and family, not them meeting as respective heads of state.
 
I don't think 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' should be the main consideration for a head of state to decide whether she is going to meet another head of state. If she decides to stay in the position (she could theoretically decide to step down), she should be expected to put duty ahead of pleasure.

And it makes you wonder why she is happy to meet the emir of Qatar and not the king of Sweden (who also happens to be her 3rd cousin (both by his father and mother) - again, if it was all about 'feeling like it' - and not about exhaustion.

Carl Gustaf - Gustav Adolf - Margaret of Connaught - Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert
Carl Gustaf - Sybilla - Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Leopold, Duke of Albany - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert

Elizabeth - George VI - George V - Edward VII - Victoria/Albert


I've seen this argument of not being to harsh on an old queen/person used in other (non-royal) discussions as well and while I understand them somewhat because who would want to require/pressure someone who is way too old to take on all the responsibilities to keep going (in this or another position) and not let loose - but I personally think that if someone is no longer up to the job he/she should face that reality and hand it over to someone who can instead of lowering expectations for the position itself.



Her meeting w the King and Queen of Sweden had nothing to do with her job. It was a personal visit between old family and friends.
 
I don't think 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' should be the main consideration for a head of state to decide whether she is going to meet another head of state. If she decides to stay in the position (she could theoretically decide to step down), she should be expected to put duty ahead of pleasure.

And it makes you wonder why she is happy to meet the emir of Qatar and not the king of Sweden (who also happens to be her 3rd cousin (both by his father and mother) - again, if it was all about 'feeling like it' - and not about exhaustion.

Carl Gustaf - Gustav Adolf - Margaret of Connaught - Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert
Carl Gustaf - Sybilla - Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Leopold, Duke of Albany - Queen Victoria/Prince Albert

Elizabeth - George VI - George V - Edward VII - Victoria/Albert


I've seen this argument of not being to harsh on an old queen/person used in other (non-royal) discussions as well and while I understand them somewhat because who would want to require/pressure someone who is way too old to take on all the responsibilities to keep going (in this or another position) and not let loose - but I personally think that if someone is no longer up to the job he/she should face that reality and hand it over to someone who can instead of lowering expectations for the position itself.

Lets not take the Queen did not 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' as gospel. There has been no confirmation of it from the Palace. HM has been a dutiful monarch for 70 years, I do not see that change in a hurry. It is entirely possible that HM had already planned to go to Balmoral before the SRF reached out arrange a meeting. I see no reason for HM to have social change plans for a casual meeting with C-G and Silvia.
 
If the aides who have been briefing the press that she does not want to be publicly seen having difficulty walking are accurate in their statements, then it would seem to be a fair assumption that she does not want to make public appearances in a wheelchair or other mobility device. (However, if there are indications that she is indeed fine with publicly appearing in a wheelchair, please correct me.) Whether that choice is "persnickety" is something about which many will disagree, as we have seen in these discussions.
What are we talking about here? The Queen is 96 for God´s sake - most human beings don´t reach such an age at all and are gone by the age of 10 or 20 years younger!
Being said "oh, if she can´t do it anymore, she should abdicate..." I find outrageous and pretty hilarious. In fact, if she can´t do anything anymore, she wouldn´t have to and there is no Regency or something needed, as long as the P o Wales and Camilla as well as the Cambridges particularly are around to take on the royal duties required!
 
I thought at the time it was a bit off for the Swedish Court to comment on a private visit. This wasn't part of a state visit but friends dropping in on another friend. With the Queen's health being as it is confirming a possible meeting was always risky.

It is also worth noting that HM apparently always goes to Balmoral around this time anyway (not the big summer visit but I think we have seen her with the Wessex's up there before) so maybe a visit by King & Queen of Sweden was never really going to happen if their visit was at this time.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/roya...ess-of-wessex-lady-louise-royal-news-pictures (2019 visit)
 
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What are we talking about here? The Queen is 96 for God´s sake - most human beings don´t reach such an age at all and are gone by the age of 10 or 20 years younger!
Being said "oh, if she can´t do it anymore, she should abdicate..." I find outrageous and pretty hilarious. In fact, if she can´t do anything anymore, she wouldn´t have to and there is no Regency or something needed, as long as the P o Wales and Camilla as well as the Cambridges particularly are around to take on the royal duties required!

I don't think Somebody implied the Queen should abdicate and, as we have discussed here, abdication is a process that could take several months at least (if not years) to be completed due to the need for ratification by the Commonwealth realms, see the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 as a case example.

I do agree, however, that, if the Queen is not capable of fully exercising her duties as Head of State, then she should let others do it in an official capacity, and not informally. That means using the Counsellors of State more often, or going for a full-blown Regency, although the latter would, under British law, require three out of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor, the Chief Justice of England and Wales, and the Master of the Rolls to certify based on medical evidence that the Queen is physically or mentally incapable to discharge her duties. Personally I think a Regency would be better for the United Kingdom now, but the legal process has to be followed to the letter if the rule of law is to be preserved.

Having said that, I agree that, in the particular case in question, the Swedish Royal Court overstepped. We know other monarchs or former monarchs (Margrethe, Beatrix, etc.) have met the Queen privately on numerous occasions and such meetings were not made public by their respective Royal Households. I agree it may be considered rude and undiplomatic for the Queen to turn down a private call from her cousin, the King of Sweden, and go to Balmoral instead, but the Swedish Court commenting on an unofficial private visit and creating the expectation of a meeting was also inappropriate when the Queen, to everybody's knowledge, has been recently confirming attendance even at official events in the UK only at very last possible minute, sometimes on the eve or the day of the event itself.

It is significant to me, however, that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for example will not apparently include a big social function with invited foreign monarchs like the Diamond Jubilee lunch at Windsor in 2012. Not only is the Queen probably not physically capable of hosting an event like that right now, but also she is probably reluctant to let the Prince of Wales deputize for her, or alternatively, receive greetings in a wheelchair or, otherwise, present herself in public and to other Heads of State in a frail state, as Tatiana Maria suggested in a different context.
 
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Lets not take the Queen did not 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' as gospel. There has been no confirmation of it from the Palace. HM has been a dutiful monarch for 70 years, I do not see that change in a hurry. It is entirely possible that HM had already planned to go to Balmoral before the SRF reached out arrange a meeting. I see no reason for HM to have social change plans for a casual meeting with C-G and Silvia.

I agree; the queen seems to be soneone who values duty.

That's why I responded to a poster who offered that as the reason - after which I build on the argument that has been used by many (in various wordings) that we shouldn't place such harsh expectations but let her do as she pleases. I don't think that would be the right direction. If she is no longer up to the job (very understandable at her age), she should either abdicate (which she won't ?) or have a regency instated (which seems the best solution). The fact that currently she can only confirm at the day of an event (including among others opening parliament!) - whether she can actually make it or not - meaning she can no longer be counted on (due to her physical condition) - could be used as an argument that she is physically no longer fully capable to perform her role.

Her already having planned the trip to Balmoral doesn't fit with the Swedish narrative as they stated that it would depend on the queen's health (not her travel arrangements). Traveling to Balmoral sounds more exhausting than receiving third cousins for a short visit. I agree with others that the Swedish communication is the main issue here as there was no reason to discuss this at all.
 
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Lets not take the Queen did not 'feeling like it' or 'wanting to do it' as gospel. There has been no confirmation of it from the Palace. HM has been a dutiful monarch for 70 years, I do not see that change in a hurry. It is entirely possible that HM had already planned to go to Balmoral before the SRF reached out arrange a meeting. I see no reason for HM to have social change plans for a casual meeting with C-G and Silvia.

I'm sure that king Carl Gustaf and queen Silvia's working visit to UK has been planned for a long time. The Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK announced on 21st March that the king and queen would attend their events in May. The press department of the Swedish Royal Court had a meeting with the media in the beginning of April. On 7th April Svensk Damtidning wrote:
"The hope is that the planned audience of soon-to-be 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth will be implemented."
Mamma mia! Kungaparet träffar ABBA – hemliga resan till London _*Svensk Dam
 
Her already having planned the trip to Balmoral doesn't fit with the Swedish narrative as they stated that it would depend on the queen's health (not her travel arrangements). Traveling to Balmoral sounds more exhausting than receiving third cousins for a short visit. I agree with others that the Swedish communication is the main issue here as there was no reason to discuss this at all.

The Queen has been missing state events like the Opening of Parliament (totally understandable as she couldn't probably walk unaided to the throne and leave the House of Lords by herself), and other semi-official events like the Commonwealth Day service, but she has been seen at private social functions like horse shows and is now traveling to Balmoral. To be fair, the events she attended did not pose significant difficulties in terms of mobility, but meeting the King and Queen of Sweden for tea at Windsor wouldn't either, I assume. That raises some questions.

In this case at least, I think there is a strong evidence that the Queen simply "didn't feel up to it", or didn't think meeting the Swedish royal couple had a higher priority than her travel plans, which had been probably in place for a while. And someone in the Queen's household failed, I think, to convey that message clearly to the Swedish Royal Court when they approached the Palace to set up a private meeting, thus creating a minor diplomatic misunderstanding.

I am pointing the fingers at the Palace/Court staff because I am pretty sure the King of Sweden and the British Queen do not handle those matters privately over a causal phone call, e-mail, or SMS. Even if it is not an official visit, any scheduled meeting goes through official channels.
 
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Maybe any meeting with the Swedish monarchs was always provisional - if HM is well enough she may be at Balmoral but if she isn't well enough to travel but well enough for a visit it can go ahead. Personally I can't see HM deciding she simply couldn't be bothered to meet with them. I wonder how "confirmed" any plans were before the Swedish Royal Court commented on a possible meeting, they seem to have a habit of offering more of a "running commentary" style PR than most Royal Courts.
 
Maybe any meeting with the Swedish monarchs was always provisional - if HM is well enough she may be at Balmoral but if she isn't well enough to travel but well enough for a visit it can go ahead. Personally I can't see HM deciding she simply couldn't be bothered to meet with them. I wonder how "confirmed" any plans were before the Swedish Royal Court commented on a possible meeting, they seem to have a habit of offering more of a "running commentary" style PR than most Royal Courts.

TOMMY100... Exactly...It is probably as straight forward as you say. I just think recently for some reason after 70 years of service to the country our Queen is being bashed on this forum for being 96 and changing her arrangements. "Finger pointing... etc etc. a minor diplomatic misunderstanding. Raises questions ..."
I cannot believe some of the comments.

We do not know what the arrangements were in the first place.

We are not used to her changing public arrangements that is why we are all taking it as a surprise now. We can never be sure about private arrangements.

If the King of Sweden isn't worried about afternoon tea I am not sure we should be either.

This is a busy week for her and we want her to be at as many events as she is able for. If she needs to rest first then so be it.
 
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TOMMY100... Exactly...It is probably as straight forward as you say. I just think recently for some reason after 70 years of service to the country our Queen is being bashed on this forum for being 96 and changing her arrangements. "Finger pointing... etc etc. a minor diplomatic misunderstanding. Raises questions ..."
I cannot believe some of the comments.

We do not know what the arrangements were in the first place.

We are not used to her changing public arrangements that is why we are all taking it as a surprise now. We can never be sure about private arrangements.

If the King of Sweden isn't worried about afternoon tea I am not sure we should be either.

This is a busy week for her and we want her to be at as many events as she is able for. If she needs to rest first then so be it.


Since you quoted me, let me repeat it if I did not make myself clear. I said that the Palace and the Swedish Royal Court are probably the ones at fault here, not the Queen or the King of Sweden. But, yes, I think it turned out to be a minor diplomatic incident because of the miscomunication/ lack of coordination between the two Households. I doubt that the King of Sweden will take it personally though.
 
Since you quoted me, let me repeat it if I did not make myself clear. I said that the Palace and the Swedish Royal Court are probably the ones at fault here, not the Queen or the King of Sweden. But, yes, I think it turned out to be a minor diplomatic incident because of the miscomunication/ lack of coordination between the two Households. I doubt that the King of Sweden will take it personally though.[/QUOTE

Why does anybody need to be at fault.... Both families have known each other for many years,

We do not know what arrangements if any were already in place.

It could have been a lets see where we are nearer the time arrangement.

I think at times we are all guilty of looking for things that are not there.
 
General News for Queen Elizabeth II: April 2021 - present

Since you quoted me, let me repeat it if I did not make myself clear. I said that the Palace and the Swedish Royal Court are probably the ones at fault here, not the Queen or the King of Sweden. But, yes, I think it turned out to be a minor diplomatic incident because of the miscomunication/ lack of coordination between the two Households. I doubt that the King of Sweden will take it personally though.[/QUOTE



Why does anybody need to be at fault.... Both families have known each other for many years,



We do not know what arrangements if any were already in place.



It could have been a lets see where we are nearer the time arrangement.



I think at times we are all guilty of looking for things that are not there.



No diplomacy involved. This isn’t a matter of diplomacy. This was just old friends meeting. The plans were cancelled. Happens all the time for anyone with friends, right?

Bigger question, as has been mentioned before, why the Swedish court even announced such a visit. I imagine it’s because of HMs advancing age and the reality that any such visit could possibly be their last with such an historic, iconic monarch and friend and cousin.
 
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