ROYAL insiders have slammed claims that the Queen’s hospital stay was “covered up” and say public were “given the complete picture.”
Buckingham Palace has been accused of misleading the public about the Queen’s health after The Celeb Report revealed Her Majesty had spent a night in hospital.
The Queen’s two-day visit to Northern Ireland had to be cancelled at the last minute, while palace communications told journalists that Her Majesty was at Windsor Castle.
But The Celeb Report revealed on Thursday night – 24 hours after – that the Queen was in fact in a London hospital overnight, not Windsor.
And now correspondents and journalists have slammed the palace for not giving the public the full picture of the Queen’s health.
Nicholas Witchell, the BBC’s royal correspondent, insisted journalists – and the public – “weren’t given the complete picture.”
He added: “The problem, it seems to me, is that rumour and misinformation always thrive in the absence of proper, accurate and trustworthy information.”
Peter Hunt, a royal commentator and former BBC journalist, also said: “The media’s faith in the veracity of royal communications will have been sorely tested by the failed attempt to hide the fact the Queen spent a night in hospital.
“Buckingham Palace can ill afford a breakdown in trust, given all they’re dealing with.”
Following the concern for the Queen’s health and the confusion at messages from the Palace, Mr Witchell said: “We are told that she’s back at Windsor Castle, undertaking light duties.
“Well, we must hope that we can place reliance on what the palace is telling us.”
And Royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward added: “They did mislead the media.
“I think they were trying to protect the Queen, because she would not have wanted a fuss, but it was misleading.”
Royal doctors sent the 95-year-old sovereign to be seen by specialists in London on Wednesday afternoon, as The Celeb Report exclusively revealed.
Her Majesty was discharged — with Buckingham Palace saying she was in “good spirits” after “preliminary investigations” during her visit to hospital.
ROYAL CONCERNS
It was believed her medical team acted out of caution to have her admitted to King Edward VII hospital in Marylebone on Wednesday.
And the overnight stay — her first in a hospital for eight years — was for practical reasons.
Yesterday afternoon Her Maj, 95, was understood to be back at her desk at Windsor Castle.
She was said to be reading her official government red boxes and is expected to recuperate for the rest of the week.
The Palace said: “Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today (Thursday) and remains in good spirits.”
It was believed the Queen stayed the night in hospital as it was getting too late to take her on a 26-mile trip home.
She was not thought to have had an overnight hospital stay since March 2013 when she was treated for a stomach bug at the same hospital.
QUEEN’S HEALTH
And it was believed to be just her fifth major hospital trip in 40 years.
Aides hope she will be at Glasgow’s COP26 climate change summit with world leaders on November 1.
On Wednesday Her Majesty cancelled a two-day trip to Northern Ireland on doctors’ advice.
Concerns were first raised when she started to use a walking stick on engagements at Westminster Abbey and the Welsh parliament this month.
On Tuesday she was on her feet for more than an hour at a business summit at Windsor Castle.
She has also decided to give up alcohol since the death of Prince Philip, 99, in April.
