The 94-year-old has spent the past fortnight contending with her husband of 70 years being in hospital battling a “pre-existing condition”. And while the uncertainty around his health continues unabated, an impending “tell all” interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle threatens to send the monarchy back to the dark days of the 90s.
Instead of shying away from this pressure, the Queen displayed a classic British stiff upper lip when she carried out an engagement with the head of the British Army this morning.
The Royal Family’s official Twitter account lavished praise on the Queen, highlighting her unwavering commitment to her duty.
It tweeted: “The Queen, Head of the Armed Forces, spoke to The Chief of the General Staff,
@ArmyCGS, to hear about how @BritishArmy personnel continue to support communities across the UK in response to the pandemic, as well as fulfilling operational duties overseas.”
READ MORE: POLL: Should Harry and Meghan delay interview as Philip in hospital?
The British Army went further, sharing a picture of General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith apparently on the phone to the monarch.
It tweeted: “This morning Her Majesty The Queen discussed the Army’s operational commitments with @ArmyCGS General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith and the vital support provided by All Ranks in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer noted the call and tweeted that Her Majesty was “keeping calm and carrying on” despite the circumstances.
He wrote on Twitter: “The Queen spoke by phone with the head of the Army, the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, earlier today.
“Buckingham Palace is sending out the message that she is keeping calm and carrying on with her duties as head of state despite Philip’s illness.”
Prince Philip was transferred by ambulance to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London on Monday, having spent nearly two weeks at the private King Edward VII’s Hospital.
The Duke of Edinburgh was visited by Prince Charles who travelled from his home in Gloucestershire for the visit.
But royal commentators have said the prince will “probably” not be visited by more family members.
Royal expert Rebecca English said: “When he didn’t come out at the weekend people started to get more worried particularly when they saw the Prince of Wales make a 200-mile round trip from Gloucestershire to visit him.
“He actually came out looking like he had tears in his eyes.”
She added: “Members of the Royal Family don’t tend to visit each other in hospital.
“That’s not because they don’t care but because they know a royal visit to hospital actually comes with quite a great deal of disruption.
“Obviously that’s something they don’t want at the best of times, let alone now.
“I think as long as he seems to be responding well to the treatment, probably not but never say never.
“If he does start getting a lot of visitors we would start to read something into that.”
Today’s engagement follows a virtual one the Queen held with the governor of South Australia and the Premier of South Australia last week.
The Queen, who ascended to the throne in 1952, also virtually unveiled a statue of herself for the first time last week.
The sculpture, which depicts the monarch in a coat and hat carrying her trademark Launer handbag, has been installed in the grounds of Government House in Adelaide, Australia.
