Queen Elizabeth II Won’t Attend COP26 Climate Summit

Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the COP26 climate summit, which will be hosted by the United Kingdom.

The U.K. monarch, who had to cancel an engagement in Northern Ireland last week due to illness, was slated to attend the United Nations gathering, which begins this weekend in Glasgow.

The queen had been "undertaking light responsibilities at Windsor Castle when she "regretfully decided that she will no longer travel to Glasgow to attend the evening reception of Cop26 on Monday, November 1, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

the statement noted that Queen Elizabeth is unhappy not to be able to attend the event, but will offer an address to the present delegates via a recorded video message.

Earlier this month, the queen was overheard criticizing world leaders for their climate inaction, purportedly saying of COP26: "We only know about those who are unable to attend... When they don't speak, it's quite aggravating."

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from COP26 follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he will not go, and there are still uncertainties over whether China's Xi Jinping will participate.