Queen to miss Commonwealth Day service

The Queen is going to miss this year's annual Commonwealth Day service, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The 95-year-old monarch - who is head of the Commonwealth - has asked her son, the Prince of Wales, to go in her place to the service on Monday.

Prince Charles and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, will be the royal representatives at the event and they'll be joined by British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and more than 600 school children.

The Queen, who is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, has recently recovered from Covid-19.

However, the decision to not attend the Commonwealth Day service is understood to be about concerns over her discomfort with travelling, rather than illness.

There have been some concerns about the Queen's mobility in recent months, with her telling Defence staff in a meeting last month: "As you can see, I can't move."

The monarch is still expected to attend a memorial service for her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, later this month at Westminster Abbey.

The Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey is one of the main highlights of the royal calendar each year.

The Commonwealth is a collection of countries that are linked in some way to Great Britain, all apart from Mozambique.

Almost one in every three people in the whole world live in the Commonwealth, and it is made up of people of all faiths, races, languages, cultures and traditions.

Many years ago, Britain used to control lots of countries as part of something called the British Empire.

Over the years, the Empire has disappeared as countries have taken charge of themselves, and has reformed and changed to become the Commonwealth.

All 53 members have signed up to a set of values including democracy, gender equality and international peace and security.

The Queen is head of the Commonwealth.