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Buckingham Palace Parties Return, Without Queen Elizabeth

The Mall is seen almost empty in front of Buckingham Palace, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
The Mall is seen almost empty in front of Buckingham Palace, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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Buckingham Palace Parties Return, Without Queen Elizabeth

The Mall is seen almost empty in front of Buckingham Palace, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
The Mall is seen almost empty in front of Buckingham Palace, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Members of the British royal family will stand in for Queen Elizabeth when the traditional garden parties return this summer at Buckingham Palace, her office said on Thursday.

Mobility issues have meant that the 96-year-old monarch has been forced to cut back on public engagements, and the Palace said members of the family would represent her at the garden parties which are returning after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a two-year hiatus.

Traditionally, the queen hosts three annual garden parties at her home in central London and another at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh but these have had to be cancelled because of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Buckingham Palace parties will be held in May and the one in Scotland in June, Reuters reported.

"Her Majesty The Queen will be represented by other Members of the Royal Family at this year’s Garden Parties, with details on attendance to be confirmed in due course," her office said in a statement.

At the start of June there will also be four days of nationwide celebrations to mark the queen's 70th year on the throne, including a service of thanksgiving and a pageant through central London.

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Eel-eating Japan Opposes EU Call for More Protection

People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
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Eel-eating Japan Opposes EU Call for More Protection

People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Japan's agriculture minister said Friday the country would oppose any call by the European Union to add eels to an endangered species list that would limit trade in them.

Eel is eaten worldwide but is particularly popular in Japan, where it is called "unagi" and traditionally served grilled after being covered in a sticky-sweet sauce.

Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that the country carefully manages stock levels of the Japanese eel in cooperation with neighboring China, Taiwan and South Korea.

"There is a sufficient population, and it faces no extinction risk due to international trade," AFP quoted him as saying.

Japanese media have reported that the EU could soon propose that all eel species be added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which limits trade of protected animals.

There are 19 species and subspecies of eel, many of them now threatened due to a range of factors including pollution and overfishing.

In 2014, the Japanese eel was listed as endangered, but not critically endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which cited factors including habitat loss, overfishing, pollution and migration barriers.

Protecting the animal is complicated by their complex life cycle, which unfolds over a vast area, and the many unknowns about how they reproduce.