Queen steps down from charity roles to lighten her workload

Many educational organisations - like Berkhamsted School - have the Queen as patron

This is an acknowledgement of advancing age.

Palace officials are characterising it as a gradual lightening of the Queen's load and such lightening has been going on for some time, with no fanfare.

It's an inevitable course of action when retirement is not an option.

She's undertaking fewer public engagements - 196 in the UK in 2014-15 and 177 in the following 12 months.

The Queen is unlikely to fly long-haul ever again seeing as Prince Harry represented her in the Caribbean last month. Prince Charles will also probably be in Canada, in place of his mother, next year.

And the challenge for a nonagenarian of standing for up to an hour at an investiture is eased by the fact other royals also conduct some of the ceremonies.

In the coming months and years, the Queen will continue to delegate duties to members of her family.

She will also continue to reign.

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