The Queen has missed attending the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London.
Buckingham Palace said the monarch had sprained her back, adding she is “disappointed” to miss the event.
The 95-year-old has been under doctors’ orders to rest for almost a month.
Buckingham Palace had previously said it was the Queen’s “firm intention” to attend the annual wreath-laying service in Whitehall.
The Queen, who lived through the Second World War as a teenager, is head of the armed forces and attaches great importance to the poignant service and to commemorating the sacrifices made by fallen servicemen and women.
It comes as she has missed several other events after being ordered to rest by royal doctors just over three weeks ago, including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening.
She spent a night in hospital on October 20 undergoing preliminary tests.
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In a statement, the palace said it was with “great regret” the Queen would be unable to attend the service.
The statement said: “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.
“As in previous years, a wreath will be laid on Her Majesty’s behalf by The Prince of Wales.
“His Royal Highness, along with the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra will be present at the Cenotaph today as planned.”
It is understood it is a recent sprain and there were concerns over the impact of a car journey and a period of standing on her recovery.
The Queen is said to be deeply disappointed over her absence and she will remain at Windsor Castle.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the stripped-back National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in 2020 (Peter Nicholls/PA)
The ceremony was given added poignancy by a return to pre-pandemic numbers of participating veterans and military, as well as onlookers.
The Prime Minister, senior politicians and members of the royal family laid a wreath at the war memorial in central London for the National Service of Remembrance.
Boris Johnson said it was a moment to “come together to remember those who sacrificed everything in service of our country”.
He said: “It’s a sacred ceremony that has endured for more than a century because we know the unpayable debt we owe those brave servicemen and women.
“We know that for our tomorrow they gave their today.
“And we know that here at home and around the world, thousands of men and women in uniform still stand ready to defend our unity and our way of life, our values, and at a cost few among us would be willing to pay”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “time for us all to stop, reflect, and remember those millions of people from Britain and the Commonwealth who have kept us safe through their service and sacrifice.”
He added: “Our way of life, our values and our democracy are hard fought for through life-ending and life-changing sacrifice.
“It is that sacrifice that has ensured we can enjoy the freedoms that we live by every day and that we must never forget.”
The Queen observes last year’s scaled-back service at the Cenotaph from a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building (Peter Nicholls/PA)
The Remembrance service in Whitehall will returned to normal this year, after the coronavirus pandemic limited the number of veterans and military and closed the ceremony to the public last year.
Hundreds of servicemen and women lined up around the Cenotaph, and nearly 10,000 veterans will march past the war memorial, watched by large crowds.
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