Episodic meaning explained: What the Buckingham Palace statement about the Queen's mobility problems means

The Queen will miss Tuesday’s State Opening of Parliament due to “episodic mobility problems”, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The traditional Queen’s Speech will instead be delivered by the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cambridge will also attend.

On Monday evening Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided that she will not attend the State Opening of Parliament tomorrow.

“At Her Majesty’s request, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities, the Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on Her Majesty’s behalf, with the Duke of Cambridge also in attendance.”

The episodic mobility issues mentioned in the statement are said to be a continuation of the problems the Queen has suffered since the autumn, which have caused her to miss a series of high-profile engagements.

“Episodic” is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as meaning “happening only sometimes and not regularly”.

This means it can be understood from the Buckingham Palace statement that the Queen is only sometimes struggling with mobility issues, and other times is able to move around more freely.

The decision for her to miss the State Opening At Parliament was seemingly made at short notice, as it had previously been indicated that she would attend as normal.

Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman had said: “The Palace themselves have said she (the Queen) is due to do it and they will confirm tomorrow.”

In October 2021 she used a walking stick at a Westminster Abbey service – she first time she was seen doing so at a major event.

This is the first time the Queen has not attended the State Opening of Parliament in 59 years, and only the third time during her reign.

The monarch also missed the opening in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward.

Her attendance at events is now reportedly on a case by case basis.

She has missed a string of high-profile events since October, when she was advised to pull out of a trip to Northern Ireland after being advised to rest by doctors, before spending a night in hospital.

She returned to light duties at Windsor Castle the following day.

In November she missed the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, and also pulled out of the Festival of Remembrance, again after being told to rest by doctors.

She then missed the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph because of a sprained back.

In February the monarch tested positive for Covid-19, which she said left her feeling “very tired and exhausted”.

She was able to return to virtual engagements two weeks later, and attended the Service of Thanksgiving for her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in March. She did not, however, make the Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel.

The Queen met with the president of Switzerland at Windsor Castle in late April, and will hope to be able to attend as many events as possible for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations on the first weekend of June.