Hopes are high that the Queen will still be able to visit Essex this month, even though she is recovering from an operation.

Following the news that she underwent a successful operation to remove a torn cartilage from her right knee, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said it was "touch and go at the moment" and a final decision would be made by the end of the week.

The minor operation, under general anaesthetic, came after the Queen wrenched her knee while walking on uneven ground during a private visit to Newmarket on the Friday before Christmas.

She is expected to be "fully active again within a few weeks", said the Palace.

But chairman of Essex County Council Tony Peel believes the visit will go ahead, although it may mean some adjustments to her itinerary.

He said: "She was going to walk from the Cathedral to County Hall which would have meant more people would have been able to see her. But if that cannot be the case then she will be transported and there are lifts in County Hall to take her upstairs."

Mr Peel said about 750 people would attend the service at the Cathedral on January 31 to mark the 50th anniversary of the East Coast floods.

Published Wednesday, January 15, 2003