No cause for alarm about Queen Elizabeth and Philip after royal staff called to meeting - source

There is no cause for alarm about the welfare of Queen Elizabeth or her husband Prince Philip after all senior royal staff were summoned to a meeting at Buckingham Palace, a well-placed source told Reuters on Thursday.

The Daily Mail newspaper had earlier reported that senior aides from across the country had been called to Buckingham Palace for an emergency meeting, leading to wide speculation on social media about the health of the royals.

"There's no cause for alarm," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Buckingham Palace had no comment on the Mail report but the source said such all-staff meetings did occur occasionally.

The queen, who celebrated her 91st birthday last month, and Philip, who turns 96 next month, still regularly carry out official duties although they have cut back on their workload in recent years.

Elizabeth met Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday to formally agree to the dissolution of parliament ahead of June's election while Philip opened a new stand at Lord's Cricket Ground in central London.