On Friday, Queen Elizabeth II surprised and delighted many by appearing at the Windsor Horse Show.
The 96-year-old Queen was driven to the event, wearing a bright shade of lipstick, a white shirt, and a black cardigan.
Her Majesty was happy, playful, and feisty as she watched three of her horses compete.
She could be seen waving her arms and yelling with excitement as one of her horses, Balmoral Leia, won the Highland Class and was later the supreme champion.
Some royal pundits say the Queen was trying to point out that she is still the head of state despite her health issues and canceling a long list of private and public engagements in the past year.
The aging Monarch decided to attend the Horse Show a day after, sending many into a frenzy by pulling out from the State Opening of Parliament.
Buckingham Palace said that the Queen was still suffering from “episodic mobility problems” and could not deliver the speech announcing the government’s agenda.
Prince Charles stepped in for his mother and sat by the Imperial State Crown, and read the speech.
Prince Charles’s performance had many royal observers saying that he gave a glimpse of his reign.
The Queen’s absence from yet another important royal function opened the door to various speculations and gossip.
Royal author Robert Hardman said to The Daily Beast that after celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, she will do what is right and abdicate the throne to Prince Charles.
He shared: “It’s critical to grasp a point that gets easily overlooked because there is so little precedent to guide it: She does not have to die in the saddle, like Victoria, after a rapid decline. There is nothing in the protocols to say that. So the same thing would be to have her abdicate.”
Royal expert Clive Irving added: “The use of the Regency Act is the first step towards abdication, which, I suspect, will happen once the Jubilee is over.”
Duncan Larcombe explained that despite the Queen’s determination to march on with her role, she would not have the choice but to step down and let Prince Charles take the throne.
He told the publication: “My understanding is that there is nothing catastrophically wrong, she just is 96, and I suspect, for all the palace’s denials, that Charles will actually be officially installed in some kind of regency capacity within a year.”
He continued: “Tuesday changed everything. The Queen really has no option if she is continually unable to perform her role as head of state. It’s one thing not being able to go to an engagement in Glasgow for a climate summit, but if she is now apparently incapable of doing standard, core jobs as head of state, then I think they will have to remove her by consent of course.”
He went on to say: “It is all going to make the Jubilee hugely poignant, as I think by then it will have dawned on us all that this will be the last time we will ever see her. The countdown has begun.”
The Queen is expected to attend certain events with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and the rest of the royal family.
However, no official schedules have been released because it is not known what her health will permit, so she will decide on the day.
