Is This Really Why The Queen Used A Walking Stick During A Recent Public Event?

Queen Elizabeth II has been the reigning British monarch for nearly 70 years and at age 95, the world is in awe of her full life that still includes public appearances and meetings with heads of state. Even after a difficult nearly two years in which she was isolated due to the coronavirus pandemic, endured a scandal where her grandson, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, split with the royal family (via NBC News), and lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, at the age of 99, the Queen is still going strong, but even she has to deal with what life throws at you when you grow older.

Recently, the Queen was spotted entering the historic Westminster Abbey with a walking stick to attend a service honoring the Royal British Legion, a charity for which the Queen is a patron. While it wasn't the first time she has been seen in public using a walking stick, it was the first time she was using one for no apparent medical reason, according to The Daily Mail.

Arriving at the Westminster Abbey service with her only daughter, Princess Anne, the Queen Elizabeth was photographed at various moments throughout the service for the Royal British Legion, active and smiling with her walking stick in hand, including when she graciously received flowers from a child.

The Daily Mail reports that the Queen was said to be using the walking stick "for comfort," but the outlet points out that the entrance to Westminster Abbey may have been difficult for her to walk on without support since the ground is uneven due to cobblestones.

The only other time the Queen used a walking stick in public was nearly two decades ago following a late 2003 knee operation, according to Yahoo. She was photographed with the stick leaving Saint Mary Magdalene's Church after Christmas Day services on December 25, 2003 and again several weeks later when she viewed the Queen Mary II ship in Southampton on January 8, 2004 (via The Daily Mail).