Buckingham Palace to release statement after Queen calls emergency 'all staff' meeting

Palace called for emergency meeting this morning...

Queen calls for emergency meeting
(Image credit: REX)

Palace called for emergency meeting this morning...

An emergency meeting has been called by the Queen this morning at Buckingham Palace, and rumours were understandably rife that it would concern Prince Philip's or the Queen's health. French media had already reported Prince Philip had died at the age of 95.

However, the Palace have said, 'You could safely assume the Queen and Prince Philip are not dead,' and that the meeting is 'not about health of Queen or Prince Philip' according to the BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt.

Staff from across the country are expected to attend, and will be addressed by the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer in the Royal Household, and Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queen’s private secretary.

According to reports, the meeting was called some time last night so that everyone from Balmoral could attend, too.

'This hardly ever happens,' a source told Metro.co.uk, 'This is very strange. In the decade that I worked there I can’t remember anything like this happening.' These sorts of internal royal meetings take place about once a year but never under emergency circumstances so it's left the public wondering what it could be.

Prince Philip has suffered a few health scares in recent years, and had to be admitted to hospital last summer so it was no surprise that people jumped to conclusions there, especially as on-site reporters stated that the Royal Standard was half mast this morning, too.

He and The Queen recently came back to Buckingham Palace after spending Easter in Windsor and now the world is awaiting what the news might be.

Perhaps it's good news about Prince Harry and Megan Markle or that Prince William and Kate Middleton really are expecting their third child?

While everyone speculated what it could be, we've got our eyes firmly on the Buckingham Palace announcement that's due at 10am so will keep you updated as and when.

Watch this space...

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.