Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will not attend the Braemar Highland Gathering, an event in the Scotland, this weekend, a Buckingham Palace source said Friday.
The decision was taken with the 96-year-old monarch's comfort in mind the source said, adding Prince Charles, heir to the throne, will be attending as planned.
Full coverage: Latest news and updates on Queen Elizabeth II
The gathering in the town around 90 miles north of Scotland's capital Edinburgh, has existed in some form for 900 years and has been regularly by the reigning monarch and members of the royal family since 1848, its organizers said. Prince Albert bought Balmoral for Queen Victoria four years later
It is one of the few occasions where the queen would usually be seen in public while she stays in Scotland during the summer months.
She is a patron of the gathering, whose events include the caber toss and the tug-of-war. Organizers say she has attended it every year since she came to the throne in 1952. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier in the week a palace spokesperson said the queen would appoint Britain’s new prime minister at her Balmoral Castle residence in Scotland, rather than at Buckingham Palace in London, due to mobility issues.
