ROME (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday during a week-long conversation earlier this week that Queen Elizabeth II was “in very good shape”.
His comment came a day after Buckingham Palace said the 95-year-old monarch was ordered by doctors to rest for another two weeks.
“I spoke to Her Majesty just like every week as part of my job and she was in very good shape,” Johnson told ITV News on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome.
As prime minister, Johnson has a weekly audience with the Queen. The latest one happened, so to speak, on Wednesday.
“The doctors told her she needed to rest, and I think we need to respect and understand that, and we all wish her all the best,” Johnson said.
Last week, the Queen underwent medical examinations and spent the night in King Edward VII Hospital in London, her first such stay in eight years.
The Queen has continued to work since then and will continue with table-based tasks.
During the break, she will miss attending the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which begins on Sunday. However, she recorded a message that will be forwarded to the participants.
She will also skip the Remembrance Festival on November 13 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an event to honor British and Commonwealth men and women who have fought wars, disasters and pandemics to protect and defend the nation.
However, the palace said the Queen’s “firm intention” is to be present at Sunday’s ceremony in central London on 14 November.
Britain’s longest-lived and longest-ruling monarch, Elizabeth, is set to celebrate her platinum jubilee next year – 70 years on the throne.