Buckingham Palace had insisted that she would be able to fulfil all of her engagements today, but it appears that the 80-year-old is still struggling to recover from the injury she suffered two weeks ago in Balmoral.
Horse racing is the Queen's greatest passion, and her decision to miss today's card highlights the severity of her condition. Famed for her robust health, she is reluctant to cancel engagements.
She has undertaken a hectic schedule since returning from her Scottish summer retreat. Last week she swept through the Baltic states, clocking up three countries in four days, during which she performed three walkabouts and negotiated her way round the deck of HMS Liverpool.
Photographers observed at the time that she appeared slightly stooped, but otherwise there were no physical indications that she was in any discomfort.
Famously she managed to reach her 40s without ever seeking hospital treatment. Her first spell in a ward came in 1982, when she had a wisdom tooth extracted at the King Edward VII Hospital in central London.
In 2003 she had to remove pieces of cartilage. She needed to use a walking stick during subsequent engagements, but soon returned to full health.
The Queen will still attend a lunch in her honour at the Jockey Club in Newmarket today.
"The lunch itself is a quiet and private affair with senior figures from the Jockey Club," said a Jockey Club spokesman.
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