Extreme lengths to keep Queen out of sight at Prince Philip's memorial

The Queen's extreme plan is said to be all in a bid to avoid replicating a "haunting" photo. Photo / Getty Images

Temporary tunnels, 2m tall screens and a helicopter ride are reportedly part of an extreme plan to transport the Queen unseen to the memorial service of her late husband, Prince Philip.

As the Queen soldiers on amid news of increasing fragility, Buckingham Palace has come up with a heavily orchestrated "military-style" operation that involves a convoluted, covert journey from Windsor Castle to Westminster Abbey, according to the Daily Mail.

To get to the event on March 29, it is alleged the Queen will be flown 15 minutes by helicopter to Buckingham Palace, driven the short distance from the Palace to Westminster Abbey, then ushered behind 2m-high privacy screens and through a stadium-style tunnel - all in a bid to block the keen lenses of photographers as she exits her vehicle.

The Mail on Sunday reports that aides believe she can then be delivered into what's known as the Abbey at Poets' Corner and manage the short walk to The Sanctuary where she will be seated.

It is also alleged that she may shirk tradition and arrive ahead of the audience rather than afterwards.

The extreme plan is, according to a Mail on Sunday source, all in a bid to avoid replicating "haunting" photos of her late sister, Princess Margaret, snapped in a wheelchair just months before her death.

Images of Princess Margaret in a wheelchair reportedly haunt the Queen. Photo / Getty Images

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told the Sun that it's understandable that Her Majesty doesn't want to be photographed in a wheelchair.

"But as the Head of State and someone who wants to be seen and needs to be seen, she might concede to a wheelchair. The best way of doing that is to make sure there are no photographs taken.

"This could be a dress rehearsal for everything at the Platinum Jubilee. I think she wants to go as she knows Philip would want her to be there.

"She will be thinking that if it was her thanksgiving ceremony, he would move heaven and earth to make sure he was there.

"She would really hate to miss it. It is a headache for her staff as it would be difficult for anyone of her age who suffers mobility problems. It would be a painful process for her."

The Queen's heavily choreographed journey to the Abbey follows her decision to pull out of the Commonwealth Day service last week. It was said there were concerns for her comfort during the almost 100km trip, and, once she arrived, whether she could manage sitting in Westminster Abbey for more than an hour.

But according to sources, she is determined to attend the memorial thanksgiving service for her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last April, aged 99.