Queen Elizabeth to miss Highland Games over mobility issues

Members of the British royal family usually attend the event in Scotland

Queen Elizabeth will miss the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, the popular Highland Games event which Prince Charles is scheduled to attend. PA.

Queen Elizabeth II will miss the Braemar Gathering, a popular Highland Games event that is being held in Scotland this weekend.

Members of the royal family usually attend the sporting spectacle rooted in Scottish tradition and are pictured enjoying themselves as feats of strength, dexterity and stamina are staged.

But the queen, who has been suffering from mobility problems since last autumn, will not attend. It is understood the decision was taken for her comfort.

Prince Charles will join spectators on Saturday for the gathering, which attracts crowds from the around the globe who watch competitors take part in the caber toss, hammer throw, and tug-o-war.

In another change with convention, on Tuesday the queen will appoint the new prime minister at her Scottish retreat of Balmoral for the first time in her reign.

The 96-year-old monarch traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming premiers at Buckingham Palace.

But Boris Johnson, who will tender his resignation, and the new Conservative Party leader who will be asked to form a government, either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, will make the 1,600-kilometre round trip to Balmoral Castle for the key audiences instead.

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