Her Majesty was seen yesterday, February 16, greeting the incoming Defence Services Secretary Major General Eldon Millar and his predecessor Rear Admiral James Macleod. It was one of the Queen’s first in-person engagement of the year and only one day after it was revealed her son Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre had reached an out-of-court settlement.
Clutching a walking stick, the Queen met the two men in one of Windsor Castle’s grand sitting rooms.
The two moved across the room towards Her Majesty and shook her hand in turn.
Meanwhile, the Queen stood still, saying: “Well, as you can see, I can’t move,” when asked how she was.
The moment was captured on video.
READ MORE: Kate’s ‘charming body language’ met with ‘frostiness from Eugenie’
The use of the stick and the fact that the Queen appeared to struggle to walk implied a “frailty” that has rarely been seen before, said body language expert Judi James.
She continued: “The question ‘how are you?’ is traditionally met with a ‘fine, thanks’ in the UK and treated as a greeting rather than a genuine invitation to discuss someone’s health.
“For the Queen though it is a question that royal fans need answering given her Covid alert, plus the way that her weight loss and her use of a stick are suddenly signalling a frailty that might be natural at her age, but which had not really been apparent so far.”
Both Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, tested positive with Covid this week, therefore there is cause to worry for the Queen’s health too if she was in close proximity to the couple a few days prior to their testing.
DON’T MISS:
Despite her physical state, Judi said the Queen appeared to be in high spirits.
She claimed: “Her reply, ‘as you can see I can’t move’, could have been worrying, but her vocal tone and her body language as she said it proved to be contradictory or incongruent.
“Her small squeal of delight and her excited and even fun-sounding ‘I’m here!’ as her guests arrived were as indicative of a strong spirit and ongoing enjoyment of life as her wide smile and expectant eye-gaze.”
Judi added: “The Queen’s body language here suggested a still-lively interest in and enthusiasm for the job.
As for jewellery, she opted for her usual three-strand pearl necklace and stud earrings.
A brooch was pinned to her left lapel.
This was the pink sapphire cluster brooch that used to belong to Queen Mary.
The huge pink stone is surrounded by a thin halo of diamonds, and a further cluster of 10 larger brilliants.
Studded around the edge of the brooch are 10 more tiny diamonds.
