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The Queen’s health fears | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

The Queen's health fears | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site

There are fresh fears for the Queen’s health after she was forced to cancel an annual event in the royal calendar.

Her Majesty, 96, spends her summers at Balmoral in Scotland and traditionally holds a welcome ceremony outside the castle in Aberdeenshire.

But the event was on Sunday canceled and replaced with a smaller gathering, which saw her inspect troops with no TV cameras present.

It is the first time the Queen has skipped the event, with the exception of during the Covid pandemic.

“The traditional welcome to Balmoral is normally cemented in the Queen’s calendar and something Her Majesty really enjoys, being able to greet locals who travel to see her,” a source told the Daily Mirror.

“It’s a bitter disappointment the ceremony will not take place in its traditional form.”

Another insider grimly warned the Queen’s absence was “very much a sign of things to come”.

Buckingham Palace said the Queen’s schedule was being adjusted for her comfort.

At some recent royal engagements, Her Majesty has been seen using a cane to help her get around.

She usually stays at Balmoral until October, but it is understood that she will make a brief return to London – either at Buckingham Palace or at Windsor – on September 6 when Boris Johnson hands in his resignation as Prime Minister of the UK.

Her Majesty will then welcome the winner of the Conservative Party’s leadership contest, which will be either Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

She is then expected to return to Scotland.

Queen was forced to pull out of Royal Ascot – one of her favorite events in the royal calendar, earlier this year.

She had attended every meet since ascending to the throne in 1952.

The monarch was replaced by Prince Charles, Camilla and Peter Phillips.

Her Majesty was also absent from the Epsom Derby and a service at St Pauls’s Cathedral during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, but appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony for a fly-past.

Before that, she attended the Chelsea Flower Show with the help of a mobility scooter.

The Queen’s health issues appeared to start last year, when she was forced to miss the Remembrance Day service with a sprained back.

She later came down with Covid, but continued to hold meetings via videolink.

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Business

Inflation-fighting BoE poised to unleash big rate hike

Inflation-fighting BoE poised to unleash big rate hike

The Bank of England is expected Thursday to follow other major central banks with an aggressive interest rate hike to tackle surging inflation.

The BoE is tipped to lift its main rate by 0.50 percentage points — the biggest amount in more than a quarter of a century.

With inflation spiking globally following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank sprang large hikes last month of 0.75 and 0.50 percentage points respectively.

“After the ECB and the Fed delivered oversized hikes at their July meetings, the Bank of England is likely to feel similar pressure to up the ante at its August meeting,” said BNP Paribas economist Amarjot Sidhu in a note to clients.

The BoE, granted operational independence from the government over monetary policy in 1997, will reveal its latest rate decision at 1100 GMT on Thursday alongside its latest outlook.

That would take borrowing costs to 1.75 percent, at a level last seen in December 2008.

Inflation has also raced higher on supply-chain woes, including labor market shortages in the wake of Brexit, and strong demand for goods and services as the Covid pandemic recedes.

Yet the bank predicts UK inflation will spike to 11 percent later this year — and it was expected to lift this guidance on Thursday.

That could take the average UK household energy bill above £3,000 ($3,600) per year.

“Higher inflation for even longer is the kind of scenario that spooks central banks.”

Economists meanwhile argue that a large rate hike damages the nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — and risks the prospect of recession.

“The… anticipated hike would be harmful to the economy and pile on the pain for people across the country,” said Nigel Green, deVere’s boss of financial consultants.

Until now, the BoE has not hiked its rates by more than 0.25 percentage points each time.

Liz Truss is currently ahead in the polls against fellow Conservative and former finance minister Rishi Sunak.

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