Queen set to miss Sri Lanka summit

The Queen will miss the Commonwealth summit for the first time in 40 years as part of a review of her long-haul travel, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The 87-year-old, who is head of the Commonwealth, will be represented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in November by the Prince of Wales.

The Queen was first present at CHOGM in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973 – missing the inaugural meeting in 1971 – and has been at every summit since. The last meeting was held in Perth, Western Australia, in October 2011.

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The biennial event brings together leaders of the 54 countries, representing the two billion citizens who make up the voluntary association.

Buckingham Palace denied that the Queen’s absence was related to calls for a boycott of the meeting over Sri Lanka’s human rights record. A spokeswoman also stressed that the decision did not mean that the Queen would be “slowing down” in her schedule of public engagements.

“I can confirm that the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales,” a spokesman said.

“The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen.

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“As a result of that she won’t be travelling to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) later this year.”

He added: “It is nothing to do with the political situation in Sri Lanka. The key point here is that the Queen will be represented, although she is not there in person, by the Prince of Wales.”

The announcement comes after the Queen was admitted to hospital for the first time in a decade in March suffering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis.

She spent one night at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London for assessment before being driven to Buckingham Palace to rest. A week of engagements, including a two-day trip to Rome, was cancelled. The Queen also missed the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.