Rare miss for Queen

Head of state Queen Elizabeth II missed yesterday's ceremonial opening of the UK parliament for the first time in nearly 60 years, handing the duty to her heir Prince Charles in a clear sign of the looming transition of power. Buckingham Palace said late Monday she would skip the annual showpiece on medical advice, making the decision "reluctantly" as she continues to experience "episodic mobility problems". It is the latest in a string of cancelled public appearances caused by health problems and old age indicating her record-breaking 70-year reign is drawing to a close. Charles, the Prince of Wales, was accompanied at the high-profile state engagement by his eldest son, Prince William, who is second-in-line to the throne. Charles delivered the Queen's Speech from the consort's throne, symbolically an inch shorter than the monarch's sovereign throne, and was flanked by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and son as he read out the government's agenda. It is William's first time attending the state opening, in another clear sign of the family preparing for a future beyond Elizabeth and Charles.