Is This The Real Reason The Queen Missed Church Services On Sunday?

Queen Elizabeth II has had it rough for nearly two years and also a rough last few weeks. Just before having to isolate herself as the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, she had to deal with a break in her family as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose to move to California, leaving their royal duties behind. And as the world began emerging from the pandemic, the queen lost her husband of 74 years when Prince Philip died at the age of 99 in April 2021.

The queen herself is 95 years old, and over the last few weeks, she's been seen in public twice with a walking stick — one time at a Westminster Abbey ceremony for the U.K. armed forces (via CNN) and a few days later at the opening of the Welsh parliament (via the Daily Mail). On October 20, 2021, she was hospitalized for one night for what Buckingham Palace called "preliminary investigations." She also canceled a planned trip to Northern Ireland, according to CBS News. Now, Queen Elizabeth has even missed Sunday church, but is it because she wasn't feeling well, or did she just need to rest for upcoming events?

The queen still has a busy schedule ahead of her

A deeply religious woman, it's almost unheard of for Queen Elizabeth to miss church on Sunday, even if she doesn't have to go far. According to The Sun, she was expected at All Saints Chapel in Windsor as per usual on October 24, 2021 but did not attend, reportedly because doctors advised her not to.

The queen is scheduled to attend the COP26 economic summit in Glasgow, Scotland the first week in November 2021 and reportedly wants to save her energy for that trip. Royal expert Angela Levin told The Sun that the queen made a wise decision to not attend church. "Going to church on a Sunday sounds just a small event but it is a very big thing for the Queen and for any woman of her age. She is very religious and it is very important personally for her to go to church every Sunday," Levin said. "But she has to come out of the nice little bubble she has at ­Windsor Castle, get in and out of cars and up and down in church. It is all exhausting. It is very sensible to give it a miss so she can do more in the future."