Queen Elizabeth II will miss the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka in November, sending her son Prince Charles in her place, the palace announced on Tuesday.
It will be the first time the 87-year-old monarch has missed such a meeting since 1971, and comes as she hands over some of her duties to younger members of the royal family.
"The queen will be represented at this year's Commonwealth heads of government meeting by the Prince of Wales," Buckingham Palace said in a short statement.
A palace source said the decision was unrelated to the controversy over the human rights record of the host of this year's meeting, Sri Lanka.
Instead, it is part of a gradual move to cut down the ageing monarch's foreign trips, which last year saw some of the younger royals represent her on overseas jubilee tours.
The queen attended the last Commonwealth meeting in Perth in Australia in October 2011.
AFP, photo Nimoni