The Queen is under medical supervision after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace revealed today, as Prince Charles, Camilla and Prince William raced to Balmoral to be with her.
Her Majesty's immediate family members have been informed about the downturn, leading to her two main heirs going to her bedside amid escalating fears for the monarch's wellbeing.
A royal spokesman said: 'Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.'
Minutes before the statement, the new Prime Minister Liz Truss was handed a note in the Commons informing her of the development as she was revealing her plans to cap energy bills for the next two years.
Ms Truss said 'the whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime' adding 'my thoughts - and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom - are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time'.
Yesterday the Queen was forced to postpone a Privy Council meeting at the last minute on doctors' advice. Following a busy day on Tuesday, during which she greeted both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss at Balmoral, as well as undertaking other light duties, the 96-year-old monarch has been told to rest.
And today Buckingham Palace revealed that doctors have been brought to Balmoral after concerns this morning.
She had been due to hold the Privy Council virtually yesterday evening, during which the new Prime Minister would have taken her oath as First Lord of the Treasury and Cabinet ministers would have been sworn into their roles and made privy counsellors, if not already appointed as one in the past.
There had been a flurry of activity in the Commons this lunchtime as concerns about the Queen were raised to the Prime Minister. Nadhim Zahawi had handed her a note, which she read and put in
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle interrupted the speech of SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford during the energy debate to tell MPs: 'I know I speak on behalf of the entire House when I say that we send our best wishes to Her Majesty the Queen and that she and the royal family are in our thoughts and prayers at this moment.' He added: 'If there is anything else, we will update the House accordingly.'
It comes after a string of health problems for the increasingly frail sovereign, who was advised not to travel to London from her Highland home this week to accept the resignation of her outgoing Prime Minister and appoint Miss Truss.
It was the first time in her 70-year reign that the Queen has appointed a Prime Minister at Balmoral.
The two politicians made the 1,000-mile round trip from London rather than making the Queen, who has suffered episodic mobility problems since October, travel back from Scotland.
Buckingham Palace said there were no constitutional issues with the delay to proceedings, which will be re-arranged, and that the decision to encourage Her Majesty to rest has not involved a hospital stay.
But the decision to postpone the virtual meeting will, inevitably, cause renewed concern for the Queen's health.
A Palace spokesman said last night: 'After a full day yesterday, Her Majesty has this afternoon accepted doctors' advice to rest.
'This means that the Privy Council meeting that had been due to take place this evening will be rearranged.'
The Queen was pictured on Tuesday smiling and alert, but still frail, using a stick and sporting extensive bruising on her hands as the inevitable result of her advancing years.
It was the first time she had been seen in public for 47 days, while enjoying her well-earned annual break on Royal Deeside. As well as meeting Mr Johnson and Miss Truss on Tuesday, the Queen also had another duty afterwards: Investing her outgoing communications secretary Donal McCabe with the Insignia of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order - an honour in the monarch's personal gift for service to the Royal Family.
She also dealt with several red boxes of papers, while a number of guests were seen leaving the castle before the first audiences began. The Queen often has family members and friends to stay during her annual holiday and is said to have been 'inundated' with company this year - although, notably, not her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who are in the UK briefly on a visit from California.
Well-placed sources have repeatedly said that the monarch is 'old, not ill', and one person who saw her recently described her as being 'on excellent form'. But last week she chose not to attend another staple of the royal calendar, the Braemar Gathering - the most famous event from the Highland Games circuit.
Meanwhile, earlier in the year the Prince of Wales stood in for her at the State Opening of Parliament.
She secretly spent a night in hospital last October undergoing tests and was then under doctors' orders to rest for the next three months, missing the Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph service in London and Cop26 climate change talks in Glasgow.
The Queen, who lost Prince Philip - her husband of 73 years - in April last year, then caught Covid in February and suffered from mild cold-like symptoms but said the virus left her 'very tired and exhausted'.
As the nation's longest-reigning monarch she was, however, able to make two short appearances at her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.