UK's Queen Elizabeth postpones meeting on advice of doctors

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was forced to cancel a meeting with her senior governmental advisers on Wednesday after doctors advised her to rest, Buckingham Palace has said.

The 96-year-old monarch had accepted medical advice "after a full day," on Tuesday when Boris Johnson formally resigned as prime minister and she appointed Liz Truss as his successor.

"This means that the Privy Council meeting that had been due to take place this evening will be rearranged," the palace said.

During the online meeting of the Privy Council, Truss would have taken her oath as First Lord of the Treasury, one of her other titles, and new Cabinet ministers would have been sworn in as privy counselors.

Queen's health concerns

Buckingham Palace gave no further details about the queen's health but said doctors did not recommend a hospital stay.

Wednesday's decision would likely spark renewed concern about the queen's health, who marked seven decades on the throne this year.

The queen is currently at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and in a break with tradition the ceremony to appoint Truss took place there rather than London.

She has been suffering from "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year and had COVID-19 in February.

The monarch, Britain's Head of State, has increasingly handed over duties to her heir, Prince Charles, and other royal family members.

She has recently missed other high-profile events, including this year's State Opening of Parliament and the Platinum Jubilee Concert.

lo/msh (AP, Reuters)