Prince Charles Acts as Stand-in as the Queen Scales Down Duties
THE INDEPENDENT: Prince of Wales to attend Commonwealth meeting in place of 87-year-old mother

The Prince of Wales will attend the official opening of Parliament for the first time in 17 years tomorrow in a significant statement of his growing role supporting the Queen in state duties.

Today it was announced that the Prince would stand in for the Queen at this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka. It will be the first time that the 87-year-old monarch has missed the biennial conference since 1973.

Buckingham Palace said the decision not to attend was part of a review of the amount of long-haul travel undertaken by the monarch and The Duke of Edinburgh, who will be 92 next month. » | Oliver Wright | Tuesday, May 07, 2013