The royal we: subtle transition as ageing Queen devolves more duties

Other royals are stepping up, including at Cop26, as a monarch who doesn't like to say no has to reduce her workload

As Prince Charles steps up to welcome world leaders to the Cop26 climate summit next week, the Queen will appear in a recorded video from Windsor to address delegates in Glasgow. It could well be a defining moment.

With the Queen's advanced years, there has been a gradual devolving of some of the more arduous public engagements to younger members of the royal family. The Duke of Edinburgh's death in April at 99 and the Queen's recent cancellation of public engagements to rest on medical advice after undisclosed tests, which necessitated an overnight hospital stay, has focused attention on the inevitable transition - and what it entails.