UK Monarch Skips Abbey Event After Illness

LONDON (AP) – Buckingham Palace officials say Queen Elizabeth II will skip an event at Westminister Abbey as she continues her recovery after a brief illness.

Officials said Monday the monarch is still getting over a bout of gastroenteritis that led to her first hospitalization in a decade. However, the queen plans to attend an event in the evening marking Commonwealth Day.

The queen canceled engagements for a week due to the illness. The hospitalization set off alarm bells in Britain, though the palace says the 86-year-old queen remains in robust health.

Elizabeth carried out some 400 official engagements in 2012 – ranging from weekly one-on-one meetings with the prime minister to ceremonial gatherings such as the one at the abbey on Monday.

Prince Philip, the queen’s 91-year-old husband, will attend the service.