MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The Queen recovering and back at the helm, say palace sources

The 90-year-old monarch fell ill before Xmas, delayed her trip to Sandringham by a day then took the very rare decision not to attend festive season church services.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has given an honor to a member of her staff in a private ceremony, resuming official duties as she continued to recover from a heavy cold that forced her to miss Christmas and New Year church services, a spokeswoman said.

 The 90-year-old monarch fell ill before Christmas, delayed her trip from London to her country estate at Sandringham in eastern England by a day, then took the very rare decision not to attend the festive season church services.

She has not been seen in public since before she became unwell and Buckingham Palace has said she was recuperating from a heavy cold.

On Tuesday, the queen gave a member of her staff, Raymond Wheaton, the insignia of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order, an honor that usually rewards personal service to her or the monarchy.

A spokeswoman said the private ceremony took place at Sandringham and no pictures were available.

The queen also sent a personal message of condolence on Tuesday to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan following the New Year's Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people.