Queen holds afternoon tea for Canada's governor general after missing service

The Queen welcomed Mary Simon and her husband Whit Fraser to Windsor Castle

The Queen has hosted an afternoon tea for Canada's governor general, the day after missing the Commonwealth Service.

Mary Simon was welcomed to Windsor Castle by the Queen, 95, on Tuesday.

The monarch's absence from the annual Westminster Abbey service is understood to have been due to concerns about her ability to travel and her mobility.

She was represented by the Prince of Wales at the event. In a message, she praised the Commonwealth as a force for good "in these testing times".

Her Commonwealth Day message also repeated the lifelong commitment she made when she was 21, that she would devote her life in service.

The ceremony in Westminster, attended by royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, celebrated the work of the Commonwealth and also focused on the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen has recently recovered from Covid and returned to holding diplomatic audiences and meetings in person. She has also been carrying out some virtual engagements.

Ms Simon and her husband Whit Fraser were greeted by the Queen in the castle's Oak Room.

The Queen, who is also monarch of Canada, was pictured standing without the walking stick she has been seen using recently as she shook hands with Ms Simon.

Ms Simon is Canada's first indigenous governor general and took up her post last July.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Queen held two virtual audiences at her Berkshire residence, receiving the ambassadors of Mongolia and Tajikistan via video link.

She is due to be represented by Prince Charles again at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, due to take place in Rwanda in June.