LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who has been instructed by her doctors to take two weeks rest from royal duties, was pictured on Monday driving by herself around her Windsor Castle estate.

The photograph, which appeared on a number of British media websites, showed the 95-year-old monarch wearing a headscarf and sunglasses behind the wheel of the car.

Last month, Elizabeth was forced to cancel some planned engagements and spent a night in hospital for an unspecified, although not COVID-19 related ailment, her first such overnight stay for years.

Buckingham Palace said her doctors had instructed her to rest and avoid official visits for at least two weeks. One of those engagements she was forced to pull out of was a reception to mark the opening of the United Nations climate change summit COP26, which gets fully underway on Monday.

The queen, who is known for her robust health, has still carried out a number of virtual audiences by videolink, in which she has appeared well and cheerful, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had spoken to her last week and said she was "on very good form".

 

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)