Queen carries out first official engagements since hospital stay

The Queen has carried out virtual audiences from Windsor Castle – her first official engagements in seven days since she was ordered to rest by doctors.

It is the first time the 95-year-old head of state has been seen – albeit on a computer screen – since she hosted a busy evening reception for the global investment summit on October 19.

She cancelled a trip to Northern Ireland, was under strict orders to rest and faced preliminary tests in hospital on October 20 during her first overnight stay at a medical facility in eight years.

The Queen was wearing a yellow dress and her three-strand pearl necklace and was seen smiling during the audiences on Tuesday.

She was pictured on a computer screen as she greeted the ambassador from the Republic of Korea, Gunn Kim, who was dressed in Korean clothing including a traditional hat known as a gat.

The monarch is being looked after by the Medical Household, her expert team of royal physicians.

She is due to attend events in Scotland next week as part of a flurry of royal Cop26 engagements involving the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge between November 1-5.

On the royal family’s website, the Queen is still listed as attending a reception on November 1 as part of the climate change conference.

She had a busy schedule of engagements in the first weeks of October following her return from Balmoral, and her hospital stay was kept a secret and only confirmed by the Palace when it was revealed by The Sun newspaper.

The Queen was seen using a walking stick for the first time at a major engagement during a Westminster Abbey service on October 12.

On Thursday October 21, she was said to be in “good spirits” after her hospital stay and back at her desk, undertaking light duties.

But she missed a church service at Windsor on Sunday.

Royal sources had briefed the Sunday Times that the Queen was “knackered” due to a busy social life and preference for late night television, as having a hectic run of engagements in October.

The Queen’s husband of 73 years the Duke of Edinburgh died six months ago at the age of 99.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on whether the monarch has received her booster Covid-19 jab, but given her age it is likely she has already had it.