The Queen has hosted Canada’s Governor General for afternoon tea – the day after missing the Commonwealth Day service.
The monarch, 95, carried out the official in-person engagement, welcoming Mary Simon to her Windsor Castle home on Tuesday.
In the Oak Room, the Queen, who is also monarch of Canada, was pictured dressed in a blue and grey paisley-style patterned dress, standing – without her walking stick – as she shook hands with Ms Simon and greeted her husband, the journalist Whit Fraser.
The head of state, who reached her Platinum Jubilee last month, has faced a bout of Covid in recent weeks and also spent more than three months from October on doctors’ orders to only conduct light duties.
The Governor General is the Queen’s representative in Canada and acts on the monarch’s behalf to uphold the country’s system of responsible government.
Ms Simon, a former ambassador and lifelong advocate for indigenous people, is Canada’s first indigenous Governor General.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Queen held two virtual audiences.
The head of state received the ambassadors of Mongolia and Tajikistan via video-link at her Berkshire royal residence.
The Queen also greeted Rukhshona Emomali, the republic of Tajikistan’s diplomat.
On Monday, the Prince of Wales represented his mother in the central London abbey for the annual celebration of the Commonwealth.
