Queen Mother's boost for veterans

The Queen Mother has suffered ill-health recently

War veterans have welcomed news that the Queen Mother hopes to attend Remembrance Day events.

It will be the first time in three years the Queen Mother has attended Remembrance Day.

The 101-year-old had an emergency blood transfusion for anaemia in August and has had health problems around 11 November for the last two years.

We very much hope she will be well enough to attend

Clarence House spokeswoman

There were fears she could miss this year but Clarence House announced she hoped to "witness" the ceremony at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day.

She will also visit the Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on 8 November, when she will be accompanied by the Duke of Kent, Clarence House said.

The two engagements were announced as "additions" to her diary and a Clarence House spokeswoman said it was routine to announce the Queen Mother's engagements within weeks of the events.

Remembrance regular

"We very much hope she will be well enough to attend," she added.

The Queen Mother has been a regular at Remembrance Day events and cemented her place in the nation's heart when she refused to leave London during the horrors of the Blitz.

She was forced to miss last year because of a broken collar bone, and was not at the Cenotaph in 1999 because of a chill which kept her indoors.

In 1998 she witnessed the ceremony from the balcony at the Foreign Office, which overlooks the Cenotaph.

Royal British Legion spokesman Charles Lewis said he was "delighted" to learn that the Queen Mother hoped to witness this year's ceremony.

Health fears

"She makes every effort to be there if she can," he said, adding: "We would be delighted."

Health fears for the senior Royal grew this summer when she was said to be suffering from "mild heat exhaustion" after braving soaring temperatures to carry out official engagements.

Blood tests showed she was suffering from anaemia and she was given an emergency transfusion and left hospital on 2 August, just two days before her 101st birthday.

Doctors advised her to rest but she made a public appearance at Clarence House on her birthday before holidaying in the Scottish Highlands.

She underwent further medical tests last month, at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and has attended church services in Balmoral and accompanied the Prince of Wales on a visit to Alford, Aberdeenshire, earlier this month.