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The Queen relishing return to public events after year of screen-fatigue

The Queen speaks to the Royal Life Saving Society via an online video call from Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace/Buckingham Palace
The Queen speaks to the Royal Life Saving Society via an online video call from Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace/Buckingham Palace

The Queen is set for her busiest autumn since her Diamond Jubilee a decade ago, swapping screens for in-person engagements as Britain gets back to business.

The Queen, who has spent the summer in Balmoral as is customary, will return to her visible work next week, with seven public engagements already in the diary for October and more to come.

Along with her duties within palace walls, including virtual and real-life audiences with visiting dignitaries and her Prime Minister, she will be more visible to the public than she has been since the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that while she made the best of engagements via video calls during the pandemic, she is particularly keen to get out and about to meet people again, having enjoyed her public work before Balmoral in the early summer.

Citing a degree of screen-fatigue, aides have designed an autumn programme to fulfil the long-held mantra that she “has to be seen to be believed”.

While she made headlines over the last year for embracing modern technology with a series of WebEx video calls, and enjoyed seeing people from throughout the Commonwealth, it is understood the Queen missed working in the more personable way she has done for decades.

Video calls will still be scheduled when it is impossible for the Queen to attend in person, such as for overseas engagements, with aides working on a mixed programme of virtual and real-life events.

The Queen speaks via a video call from Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace/Reuters
The Queen speaks via a video call from Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace/Reuters

A royal source said: “The Queen had an incredibly busy May, June and July, with a real determination to get back, and this is continuing after the summer. There’s a real appetite for it to be business as usual as much as possible.”

While she returned to public duties in May following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the coming year will see the Royal Family front and centre as the country gears up for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Up to November 1, the Queen already has seven pre-announced public engagements.

In 2019, pre-pandemic, there were three comparable public engagements, along with the State Opening of Parliament and numerous events behind Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace walls.

In 2018 there were two, plus the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, as well as a state visit from the Netherlands.

Not since 2013 has there been seven public engagements, with between two and four events in the court circular each October following. Then, the Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh for the majority, hosting receptions together for the Commonwealth Health of Government meeting and visiting the National Theatre and a fish market.

In 2012, the Diamond Jubilee year had fewer traditional engagements but more glamour, seeing them attend a gala celebration at the Royal Opera House, the newly-developed Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank in London, and unveil the Windsor and Eton Society Diamond Jubilee Tribute

In 2011, when the Queen was a youthful 85 years old, she spent part of the autumn overseas in Australia with Prince Philip, with lively court circular entries noting them attending the “Big Aussie Barbecue”.

Now 95 and without her consort, the Queen will be keeping busy with the company of her children Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

On October 1, she will be joined by the Prince of Wales at Balmoral for the start of planting season for the Queen’s Green Canopy project.

The next day, the pair will attend the opening ceremony of the Sixth Session of the Scottish Parliament.

Returning from Balmoral, she will be accompanied by the Earl of Wessex to launch the Queen’s Baton Relay for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games from the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

On the 12th, along with the Princess Royal, she will attend a Westminster Abbey service of thanksgiving marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion.

In events currently listed in the royal diary as solo engagements, she will go on to open the Sixth Session of the Senedd, give a Windsor Castle reception in honour of guests at the Global Investment Summit, and attend a reception for the COP-26 environmental summit in Scotland.