- Queen Elizabeth has a new job description to fit her quieter lifestyle in recent months.
- The annual report of the monarchy revealed that the queen's role as head of state had been changed to a less specific description.
- This means that the duties she "must fulfil" have been revised.
Queen Elizabeth has a new job description to fit her quieter lifestyle in recent months.
The Sovereign Grant Annual Report and Account, which was released last week, revealed that the queen's role as head of state had been changed to a less specific description.
According to The Telegraph, this means that the duties she "must fulfil" have been removed from the list.
The quiet move, which People reports is the first such change in more than a decade, recognises that the monarch has needed to take a step back from public events due to ongoing mobility issues in recent months.
At the conclusion of her Platinum Jubilee in June, Queen Elizabeth renewed her promise to serve the people of the Commonwealth. Still, she noted that she was doing so with the support of her family – something that has become evident in royal family appearances.
Heir to the throne, and the queen's eldest son, Prince Charles, has stepped up significantly, and so has the second in line to the throne, Prince William.
An example is when the father and son stood in for the queen at the State Opening of Parliament in May. Charles, 73, also represented his mother at the Royal Ascot – known to be one of HM's favourite events of the year.
Despite her frequent absence from public events in recent years, the queen delighted royal watchers when she attended a series of events at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, last week. This signifies that she will still be present but not at all public events she would previously have attended.
The Sovereign Grant report has thus divided the queen's role into two:
1. "The role of Head of State, which is a formal constitutional concept, common to all nations and involves the official duties which the queen, by constitutional convention, must fulfil."
2. "The role of Head of Nation, a much more symbolic role in the life of the Nation, involving duties which are not directed by the Constitution but which the queen carries out where appropriate or necessary."