the queen will join world leaders at the cop26 climate conference in glasgow in november as she returns to full time work following the pandemic
The Queen will attend a reception for the United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow as part of her return to work full-time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Ministers are determined to plough ahead with the Cop26 event despite growing concern over a rise in coronavirus cases.
It is expected to attract 120 heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Tens of thousands of delegates will also be there.
The Queen will attend a reception for the United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow as part of her return to work full-time since the coronavirus pandemic began
A tweet from the official COP26 account which announced the Queen's involvement read: 'We are pleased to announce Her Majesty The Queen will be attending #COP26.'
Government minister Alok Sharma, who is the president of Cop26, also took to Twitter to say he was 'absolutely delighted' that Her Majesty is attending.
Around 10,000 police officers from around the UK will also be deployed each day during the conference.
Police Scotland described it as 'the most complex and complicated' even which has ever been staged in the country.
The Queen has already been raising awareness of climate change, partly due to the work of naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
She is said to have decided to ban plastic bottles and straws from royal estates in response to his BBC Blue Planet series.
Ministers are determined to plough ahead with the Cop26 event despite growing concern over a rise in coronavirus cases. It is expected to attract 120 heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. Tens of thousands of delegates will also be there
And following a meeting with climate experts in Edinburgh last month, the Queen said tackling climate change would mean we have to change 'the way we do things'.
In her busy autumn calendar of events, the sovereign will also address MSPs at the opening ceremony for the new session of the Scottish parliament on October 2.
The event will celebrate the efforts of 'local heroes' during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the past few years, the Queen – who will attend the Cop26 reception on November 1 – has been outspoken about climate change.
In a 2017 speech to the Commons, the monarch - who is currently on her summer break at Balmoral - acknowledged advances such as the Paris Agreement.
A tweet from the official COP26 account which announced the Queen's involvement read: 'We are pleased to announce Her Majesty The Queen will be attending #COP26'
The Queen has already been raising awareness of climate change, partly due to the work of naturalist Sir David Attenborough. In 2018, she walked the grounds of Buckingham Palace with Sir David as part of an ITV special called The Queen's Green Planet
And in 2018, she walked the grounds of Buckingham Palace with Sir David as part of an ITV special called The Queen's Green Planet.
The programme focused on The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, a network of forest conservation initiatives that Her Majesty started to help reduce carbon emissions and promote nature.
In October 2020, Sir David teamed up with The Queen's grandson Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, for the £50million Earthshot Prize, described as the 'most prestigious environmental project in history'.
Her eldest son, Prince Charles, was one of the earliest advocates for organic farming when, in 1985, he introduced the practice at his 900-acre Highgrove estate – and her late husband, Prince Philip, drove one of the first prototype electric vehicles in the 1970s.
The Duke of Edinburgh was a patron of the World Wide Fund for Nature and a champion of environmental issues.
He toured the world to draw attention to the plight of wildlife endangered by poaching, deforestation and pollution.
News of the Queen's appearance comes only a day after activists descended on Buckingham Palace.
They daubed paint on the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of the palace gates and dyed its fountain water red.
News of the Queen's appearance comes only a day after activists descended on Buckingham Palace
They daubed paint on the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of the palace gates and dyed its fountain water red
The protesters, from Animal Rebellion, a sister group to Extinction Rebellion, said on social media: 'Using Crown land to exploit animals and our planet is a royal blood bath.
'The more power you have, the greater responsibility you have to lead the way into a future which is just and sustainable for all life. We Are Not Amused!'
Before the Cop26 event, the Queen has a packed schedule.
On October 7, the monarch will launch The Queen's Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Birmingham.
Five days later, she is set to be joined by her daughter Princess Anne for a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey to mark the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal British Legion.
Then, on October 14, Her Majesty will attend the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd.
Following the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9, the Queen withdrew from public duties for two weeks.