Britain's Queen Elizabeth II records her address to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus outbreak at Windsor Castle, west of London on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will not carry out the opening of parliament on Tuesday as the 96-year-old monarch has had a recurrence of mobility issues, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, the latest event she will not attend because of her health.

Her son and heir Prince Charles, accompanied by his eldest son Prince William, will step in to replace her for the grand set-piece ceremony, in which the monarch sets out the government's agenda, the palace said.

She last missed the event almost six decades ago.

"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," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"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 queen, the world's eldest and longest-reigning monarch, has been forced to cut back on engagements since being hospitalized for a night in October 2021 for an unspecified illness, and then being told by her doctors to rest.

The palace declined to give details of Elizabeth's ailment, but a source said her decision to pull out of the opening of parliament, which was only made on Monday, was related to the problems she had suffered in 2021.

While Elizabeth has continued to carry out many of her duties virtually or in person at her Windsor Castle home, her first public event since falling ill was in April, when she attended a memorial service to her late husband who died in 2021.

Reuters