British royalty reporters have reacted stunned to the news that Queen Elizabeth had been hospitalized for a day, not staying at Windsor Castle as previously reported.
Buckingham Palace reported on Wednesday that the Queen cancelled her visit to Northern Ireland to rest on the advice of her doctors. However, a day later, it was announced that Elizabeth had been admitted in the late afternoon on Wednesday and was allowed to return to Windsor on Thursday.
According to the British royalty press, it is inconvenient for Buckingham Palace to “lie” about where Elizabeth stayed. “The risk to the palace is that concerns about the queen’s health will increase if the public and the press cannot trust the royals to be honest with them,” said Richard Palmer of the Daily Express on Twitter.
Robert Jobson of the Evening Standard agrees. The Queen is “the head of state. Of this state, not of North Korea”, he responds on Twitter. Rebecca English of the Daily Mail believes that the Queen also has a right to privacy but does not think that that is why it should have been said that she was at Windsor Castle rather than in the hospital. “It should have been clarified right after her resignation.”
The BBC’s Nicholas Witchell also believes that Buckingham Palace’s erroneous reports will lead to much more speculation about Elizabeth’s health. “The problem, I think, is that rumours and misinformation always thrive for lack of correct, accurate and reliable information,” he told BBC Breakfast.
What is wrong with the Queen is still not clear. But, according to the British court, she is doing well. An insider told British media on Thursday that there is “no cause for concern”.