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| Queen to miss Commonwealth meeting for first time since 1973 | Queen to miss Commonwealth meeting for first time since 1973 |
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| The Queen will miss the Commonwealth heads of government meeting for the first time since 1973, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. | The Queen will miss the Commonwealth heads of government meeting for the first time since 1973, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. |
| The Prince of Wales will represent the Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, at the meeting in Sri Lanka in November. | The Prince of Wales will represent the Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, at the meeting in Sri Lanka in November. |
| A spokesman said: "I can confirm that the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales. | A spokesman said: "I can confirm that the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales. |
| "The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen. | "The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen. |
| "As a result of that she won't be travelling to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) later this year." | "As a result of that she won't be travelling to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) later this year." |
| The Queen first attended Chogm in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973 – missing the first one in 1971 – and has been at every summit since. | |
| The decision to send Charles instead of the Queen also signifies the prince's commitment to easing the burden on his elderly parents. | |
| The Queen, who still carries out in excess of 400 engagements a year, is 87, while the Duke of Edinburgh will be 92 in June. The decision not to travel to Sri Lanka is not one which will have been taken lightly and it is likely to cause concern about the state of the Queen's health. | |
| Her commitment to the Commonwealth has been an enduring part of her reign, which spans more than 60 years. | |
| The Queen sees the Commonwealth as a "family" and takes pride in its work as a force for good in the world. Although she is its symbolic head, she has no formal powers over the 54 countries and 2 billion citizens that make up the voluntary association. | |
| Every two years, leaders in the grouping meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to agree on collective policies and initiatives. | |
| The 2013 Chogm takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 15 to 17 November. | |
| The Queen was forced to miss the Commonwealth day observance service at Westminster Abbey on 11 March this year – the first time she had been absent from this event in 20 years. The Duke of Edinburgh attended the engagement alone. The last time the Queen missed the service was when she had flu in 1993. | |
| But in a clear demonstration of her commitment to the association, the Queen attended a reception at Marlborough House the same evening to sign the new Commonwealth charter despite still recovering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis. | |
| Campaigners including Amnesty International are calling for the Chogm meeting not to take place in Colombo before an investigation is carried out into human rights abuses in the final six months of the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war. | |
| Britain is facing pressure to lead a boycott of the meeting, with Canada's government indicating that it will not attend unless specific criteria are met. | |
| Buckingham Palace said the Queen's decision not to attend was not related to the political situation. | |
| The spokesman said: "It is nothing to do with the political situation in Sri Lanka. The key point here is that the Queen will be represented, although she is not there in person, by the Prince of Wales." | |
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