The Queen is in remarkable good health and is likely looking forward to returning to normalcy and resume all her royal duties rather than thinking about stepping down, according to royal author Clive Irving. The author told Express.co.uk: “People seem to think that when the Queen reaches the age of 95 next year she will invoke the Regency Act and make Charles Prince Regent and so he can govern as such.
“I don’t think she is minded to do that at all, she is incredibly fit and robust for her age.
“She is physically independent, she doesn’t even need a stick to walk, she needs no support – she was out riding on a horse recently.
“How many 94-year-old women can do that?
“She has got enormous stamina and she has made it very clear – she wants to do the job until she feels she can’t go on doing it.
“And she can very much keep on doing it.”
The Queen was photographed horse-riding multiple times over the past few months.
During the first national lockdown, Buckingham Palace released pictures of the monarch smiling while on one of her beloved horses at Great Windsor Park.
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More recently, she was spotted by a photographer bracing the chill November weather to enjoy a ride in the company of her head groom, Terry Pendry.
Rather than enjoying a reduced number of engagements and a more relaxed routine during the pandemic, the Queen is likely to have been “frustrated” by the impossibility to work as normal, Mr Irving said.
The expert, whose most recent book The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy-Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor will be published in early January, explained: “I think she has been very frustrated by living in the bubble, there are lots of things that she would normally be doing like investitures and meeting people at the palace that she can’t do.
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“I think once the bubble is lifted she will be right out there again doing all of that.”
Royal commentator Robert Jobson wrote three years ago in a column for the Evening Standard the Queen had “hinted that she would consider a Prince Charles Regency at 95.”
While conceding the Queen would never abdicate, the expert reported rumours regarding the possibility to remain formally in charge while making the Prince of Wales the head of state.
Earlier this year, the expert said during True Royalty’s The Royal Beat: “I still firmly believe when The Queen becomes 95, that she will step down.”
Newsweek royal reporter Jack Royston agreed, saying: “I think she won’t want to, but realistically she will get to a point where she has handed over everything to Charles and then how do you look your son in the eye and tell him he is not going to be King?”
On her 21st birthday, the then-Princess Elizabeth pledged in a famous speech to devote her whole life to service.
In 2012, during her Diamond Jubilee, the monarch further reaffirmed her desire to continue dedicate herself to the Crown for years to come.
She said: “I have been privileged to witness some of that history and, with the support of my family, rededicate myself to the service of our great country and its people now and in the years to come.”
In mid-November, Buckingham Palace appeared to shut down rumours the Queen would step down next year unless forced by unforeseen circumstances.
A month ago, the palace announced major plans agreed with the Government to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, suggesting the monarch is looking forward to continuing to fulfil her role further than next April.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The platinum jubilee offers an opportunity for the Queen to express her thanks for the support and loyalty Her Majesty has received throughout her reign.
“The Queen hopes that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to join the celebrations.”
