AB GhaylaneThe queen, 95, is leading the royal family at an event honoring her husband Philip at Westminster Abbey.
The Queen will attend the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace said.
The 95-year-old monarch has embraced the idea of making an appearance and leading her family to the high-profile and personally meaningful event in honor of her husband Philip.
She made the final decision Tuesday morning, hours before leaving Windsor Castle for central London with Prince Andrew, after deciding to attend Westminster Abbey if her mobility allowed.
A palace spokesman said, “The Queen is currently planning to attend the service this morning.”
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The duke’s relatives, friends, colleagues and representatives of his charities and patrons have gathered to pay tribute to the man whose funeral last April was attended by just 30 of his relatives.
Special arrangements were made for the Queen’s comfort, with the service limited to 40 minutes and the monarch seated in one of Canada’s chairs, but with an extra cushion. The Queen’s concern was whether or not she would be able to walk to her seat.
Television cameras avoided filming the Queen as she made her way to the back of the Abbey via Poets’ Corner, a shorter route to her seat in the Lantern. Traditionally, the Queen arrives through the Great West Door and walks the length of the church, passing through the Nave and the Quire.
In October, when she attended the Royal British Legion Centenary Service using a cane, the Queen arrived at Poets’ Yard, passing through Poets’ Corner.
The monarch has attended only one major public event since concerns were raised about her health in October, when she spent a night in hospital for tests and was ordered by doctors to rest.
On Feb. 5, on the eve of her platinum jubilee, she hosted a reception at her private residence in Norfolk, Sandringham House, for members of local charities, former employees of the estate and members of the Women’s Institute.
Tuesday’s ceremony was the Queen’s first major official engagement outside one of her residences in five and a half months, since she travelled to Cardiff to address the Welsh Senedd on October 14.
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