Queen hospitalized for stomach illness
Demolition experts oversee the destruction of the home of Jeff Bush, 37, on Sunday in Seffner, Fla. Bush is presumed dead after a sinkhole opened under his bedroom Thursday and swallowed him.
LONDON — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was hospitalized Sunday over an apparent stomach infection that has ailed her for days, a rare instance of ill health sidelining the long-reigning monarch.
Elizabeth will have to cancel a visit to Rome and other engagements as she recovers, and outside experts said she may have to be rehydrated intravenously.
Buckingham Palace said the 86-year-old queen had experienced symptoms of gastroenteritis and was being examined at London’s King Edward VII Hospital — the first time in a decade that Elizabeth has been hospitalized.
“As a precaution, all official engagements for this week will regrettably be either postponed or cancelled,” the palace said in a statement. Elizabeth’s two- day trip to Rome had been planned to start Wednesday. A spokeswoman said the trip may be “reinstated” at a later date.
The symptoms of gastroenteritis — vomiting and diarrhea — usually pass after one or two days, although they can be more severe in older or otherwise vulnerable people. Dehydration is a common complication.
The illness was first announced Friday, and Elizabeth had to cancel a visit Swansea, Wales, on Saturday to present leeks — a national symbol — to soldiers of the Royal Welsh Regiment in honor of Wales’ national day, St. David’s Day.
She instead spent the day trying to recover at Windsor Castle, but appears to have had trouble kicking the bug.
Britain’s National Health Service says that the two most common causes of gastroenteritis in adults are food poisoning and the norovirus, a common winter vomiting bug which typically afflicts between 600,000 and one million Britons each year. British health guidelines advise that people with the norovirus avoid work for at least two days.
Elizabeth has ruled since 1952 and is Britain’s second-longest serving monarch, beaten only by Queen Victoria in terms of the number of years spent on the throne.
Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip, 91, has had several hospital stays, but Elizabeth has rarely let sickness get in the way of her still-busy schedule.
About five months ago, she cancelled an engagement due to a bad back. The spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, said the last time Elizabeth was hospitalized was in 2003 for a knee operation.