The Queen reluctantly decides to skip her annual UK Parliament speech due to 'episodic mobility problems,' palace says

• The Queen will not attend the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday.
• She is experiencing "episodic mobility problems" according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth will miss her usual appearance in UK Parliament Tuesday due to "episodic mobility problems," Buckingham Palace announced, according to the BBC.

Her son, Prince Charles, will read her speech in her place, Buckingham Palace announced.

Until Monday, updates from the Queen indicated she hoped to make the trip to Westminster for the address, but she chose to pass up the event after consulting with her doctors, the BBC reported.

—Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) May 9, 2022

"The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided that she will not attend the State Opening of Parliament," Buckingham Palace said in a statement, according to a tweet from Beth Rigby, a Sky News politics editor and presenter.

Rigby went on to report that Prince William would attend the State Opening alongside his father.

Representatives for Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Kensington Palace, and Parliament, respectively, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This is the first time since 1963 that the Queen will miss the opening of Parliament and the reading of the Queen's speech — a ceremony that sets out Parliament's governmental agenda for the coming year.

Reports of the Queen's "mobility problems" are not a total shock, as the monarch was photographed using a cane in October 2021 and she missed multiple Easter events, according to the BBC.

She also had to cancel multiple royal engagements in February after testing positive for COVID-19. A false report from a gossip site that said she had died went viral at the time.

The Queen and the royal family are preparing for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, which will honor her 70 years on the throne.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to attend the celebrations with their children Archie and Lili, giving the Queen her first opportunity to meet Lili, who is named after her, in person.