The queen spent a night in hospital this week,

[MrsLargeEmbodied]

stoic lady

[quote julieca]@MagpieMary they tell us what they do and TBH make a big deal of not much work. Like catherines 6 year project of an early years survey that turned out to be 6 questions and not at all revolutionary.[/quote]
That’s also rubbish and is a lot more involved than that but you carry on thinking you know better. The double standards of some posters who defend H and M to the hilt but stick the knife into W and C is ridiculous.

[quote julieca]@buffyajp I look at the court circular regularly. I see what they do. Anne and the Queen do a lot.[/quote]
Why?

Things so often come across poorly online, I don’t mean that as a snide question, I am genuinely asking why you look at it regularly. Is it interesting?

@SickAndTiredAgain because it shows you how little some do while some do a lot. Some RF members do fun things as well an awful lot, while others are doing very worthy things.
I wish Anne was next in line.

[quote julieca]@buffyajp I look at the court circular regularly. I see what they do. Anne and the Queen do a lot.[/quote]
As has been said so many times in this thread, you don’t see what goes on behind the scenes do you? The briefings, the prep etc?

@GinghamChicken

Looking at the way the Queen has been walking / standing in the last few appearances she reminds me of my Gran just before she had a hip replacement.

The signs are familiar: needing a stick 'for comfort'; no longer riding (sitting legs akimbo when you have an arthritic hip is agony); being told to rest - again, with an arthritic hip, standing around can cause severe pain which can come on unexpectedly and be completely debilitating.

My personal feeling is that, yet again, rumours are being stoked by the press and she is in fact suffering from arthritis, a condition often associated with old age but which can be remedied - hence preliminary investigations in hospital.

For what it's worth, that's my two pennorth.

You may well be right. I noticed at the Commonwealth ceremony just before COVID, she seemed very unsteady on her feet.

@MagpieMary meetings they attend are in the court circular. They need briefings for some things, but tbh these would be short for most things except the types of things the Queen attends. What briefing do you need to go to the pantomime?

she is Amazing for her age
other 95 year olds do not do so much as she does ime

The Queen Mother had a hip replacement at 95.

My gran had a hip replacement at 97.

HM seems in good spirits and fine generally so
A hip problem would seem a likely scenario. The trouble is she would need weeks of recuperation if she had the op. Perhaps she’s waiting for the right time.

How do you know?You dont know what they do behind the scenes

Because when every telephone call is noted on the CourtCircular (to make it look like they're doing a lot), it would seem to me there isn't much going on behind the scenes.

The double standards of some posters who defend H and M to the hilt but stick the knife into W and C is ridiculous

I would defend K to the hilt if there were endless threads about how C carried a baby, wore an off the shoulder dress, ate too many avocados, looked round at W when on the balcony, how dare she, and so on...

My criticism is... I think they should do more, it won't be much longer they can use the 'they have a young family' excuse.

There's a lot of 'held an Early Years zoom call' and for instance Kate has done barely anything for a month, and prior to that was at Balmoral for nearly two months. People love seeing her, why can't she be out and about visiting her numerous charities.
I do think they are a bit workshy.

Am I right to think that the Queen had a replacement knee a few years ago?
I agree with any of you who say she's lost weight, but she's looking cheerful enough in her face in the recent days, where she's done the Zoom-type things.

With regard to W and C needing briefing before they went to the pantomime, I doubt if they did need briefing. Was it one of their official duties?
I think they would have needed a fair lot of briefing when they went to India, several years ago now, and even to go and visit a farm in the north of England this year they probably needed to be clued completely up to date about changes in farming being brought about by our exit from the EU. I doubt if they just turned up without any preparation.

@julieca and @Roussette that’s interesting about the court circular. Is there a specific link online where you can read it? Thanks.

Am I right to think that the Queen had a replacement knee a few years ago?

I don’t think so. She had knee surgery about 20 years ago, and I think there have been various stories cropping up occasionally that she might need a knee replacement, but I don’t think she’s had one.

@JingsMahBucket

[[https://www.royal.uk/court-circular Here] it is. You can look at any time period and any member of the RF.

Ooops try again
Here

perhaps she is isolating, she went to wales mid october, then hospital now 2 weeks rest

I've posted previously about RF engagements - they're not all within the gift of the RF. yes they have their own patronages but a fair whack of engagements are government directives. I presume there is a limit on outright refusal of government requests so it's often a case of finding the best royal fit - and then the royals get flack. See for example C and C going to Greece during covid, K and W doing the covid train journey and the pantomime, Harry (as we now know unhappily) doing Nepal a few years ago. For those political engagements I'd imagine it's a cross between the cab rank rule and Guess Who - where you need to find the best matching royal.

You don’t see what goes on behind the scenes ... the briefings, the prep etc

A great deal is made of this, but by definition there's far less "prep" with a royal who has fewer engagements
Also, while we're invited to believe they work hard to factfind every detail, it's far more likely to be done by aides who'll create a cribsheet and a few key questions to ask

Certainly we get charities gushing that "they were SO clued up!!", but confirmation bias being what it is, someone who's thrilled and overcome to receive a royal visit isn't always an objective source

And I see that in the Court Circular, it now counts as an engagement even if the royal wasn't there at all and someone else represented them: "The Queen was represented by Colonel Toby Browne (Crown Equerry) at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Major Lord Patrick Beresford which was held at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London SW1, today" (28th October)
Obviously nobody expects the Queen to attend if she's unwell, but then why mention it at all except for a bit of padding?

And I see that in the Court Circular, it now counts as an engagement even if the royal wasn't there at all and someone else represented them: "The Queen was represented by Colonel Toby Browne (Crown Equerry) at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Major Lord Patrick Beresford which was held at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London SW1, today" (28th October) Obviously nobody expects the Queen to attend if she's unwell, but then why mention it at all except for a bit of padding?
This is standard procedure for all the royal family. People represent them at memorials and funerals and it is published in the Court Circular. We used to get the Telegraph delivered daily.

... a fair whack of engagements are government directives. I presume there is a limit on outright refusal of government requests

Probably there is, even with the carrot of us the government paying for the whole thing if they've requested it, but it hasn't stopped Charles snubbing events attended by state leaders he's in a snit with

Which will be interesting when he's King ...

looking at that circular they are busy people but they are not young, apart from W & C.
they need to pass some duties to younger blood surely?

I know it's standard, Derxa - though I should perhaps have left out the word "now" since it risked suggesting it's a new thing

Doesn't stop it making them look as if they're doing more than they actually are though

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I know it's standard, Derxa - though I should perhaps have left out the word "now" since it risked suggesting it's a new thing

Doesn't stop it making them look as if they're doing more than they actually are though

It's nothing to do with that. It's all about stuffy old protocols.

The government directed the RF to attend a pantomime? Really??
Yes the meetings with heads of state tend to be government-directed. These are ones the Queen tend to do although other royals do get involved.
The kind of engagements the Queen does will need briefings. But not the other types.

Taken from most recent Court Circular -

The Duke of Gloucester, Grand Prior, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, this morning visited the St. John Ambulance Training Centre, Harry Crook Centre, Raleigh Road, Bristol, and was received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol (Mrs. Peaches Golding).
What briefing is needed apart from who different people are. Maybe a very short brief on St Johns Ambulance Service.

His Royal Highness afterwards presented The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service to Mothers for Mothers, New Fulford Centre, Gatehouse Avenue, Bristol.
Short brief on what the award is. But he is presenting it, that is all.

The Duke of Gloucester this afternoon visited Bristol Water, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, to celebrate their One Hundred and Seventy Fifth Anniversary.
Short brief on who Bristol Water are and maybe a few intelligent sounding questions to ask.

The Princess Royal was present at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Major Lord Patrick Beresford which was held at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London SW1, today.
No briefing necessary unless she has no idea who he is.

Her Royal Highness, Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Corps of Signals, this afternoon visited 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.
Very minimal briefing

By the way above engagements are pretty standard. Anne does loads of worthy engagements. Andrew always did fun things like going to golf clubs and dinners. Queen does a mixture of worthy and clearly government engagements. William and Catherine do little and have a fair amount of phone or zoom calls as engagements unless it is a fun thing. Charles does some worthy stuff as above.
The Queen and Anne are the only ones though who really do the work. I would be happy if Anne was going to be our new Queen. She seems to be cast in the same mode as the queen.