95-year-old Queen Elizabeth had been informed by a magazine that she had been nominated as ‘Oldie of the Year’. However, she replied she did not feel worthy of such an award.
The nation’s longest-reigning monarch, who is due to mark her Platinum Jubilee next year after 70 years as Queen, was sent a letter by author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, chairman of the awards, to ask if she would accept the Oldie of the Year title. Her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, was Oldie of the Year in 2011.
But in a reply published in the magazine’s latest issue, the Queen’s assistant private secretary, Tom Laing-Baker, said: “Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel, as such The Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept, and hopes you will find a more worthy recipient.”
At Tuesday’s awards show in The Savoy, London, Mr Brandreth said he had hoped to bestow the annual honour on the Queen, in recognition of her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the lead-up to her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Despite being forced to cancel a two-day visit to Northern Ireland after a one-night stay in hospital this week, the Queen continues to carry out her royal duties including holding parties with world leaders, and mastering the video call.
On Tuesday, the Queen, along with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, hosted a reception at Windsor for international business and investment leaders to mark the Global Investment Summit.
That same day, Buckingham Palace released a video of Her Majesty in an online audience with Dame Cindy Kiro, the governor-general designate of New Zealand, in which the Queen began the call with a cheerful “Ah! There you are” as she appeared on the screen.
In short, how could the Queen qualify as an ‘Oldie’?
