The Queen holds first engagement since missing Remembrance Sunday Service

“Her Majesty received General Sir Nicholas Carter at Windsor Castle today upon relinquishing his appointment as Chief of the Defence Staff,” according to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Dressed in an orange, green and white floral dress, the 95-year-old monarch stood to greet the outgoing general in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle. The Queen warmly welcomed the head of the armed forces as he entered the sitting room, as one of her dogs ran towards him inquisitively. After the pair shook hands, the monarch said it was “rather sad” that he was stepping down, as they started chatting. Family photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex as well as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie could be seen on display in the background of the room, where the monarch Since then and following her doctor’s orders, the royal household has scaled back her diary significantly. She has been mostly resting at Windsor, undertaking a few light duties by video link and phone. She did however manage to head off for a long-planned weekend away, a royal source previously told CNN. Her mini-break had been in the diary for some time, with doctors giving her the all-clear to go to Sandringham by helicopter, according to The Mirror newspaper. She was understood to be traveling to her country estate to make preparations to welcome her family over Christmas, the report added. Before that, Elizabeth was seen driving herself around her Windsor estate, in what will have been a reassuring sight to many royal-watchers. “Moving forwards, especially as we move into the winter with Covid, we will see the Queen doing more zoom calls, less in-person meetings,” CNN historian and royal expert Kate Williams previously said. “But I think that as soon as the winter is over, she will be keen to get back on her feet, back out there meeting people. It’s just whether or not the doctors are going to agree with it.”CNN has launched Royal News, a new weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on the royal family, what they are up to in public and what’s happening behind palace walls. Sign up here.