"None of us can slow the passage of time," the Queen has said in a speech delivered by Earl Wessex after the queen missed her first national assembly address in 69 years.

The statement may sound hopeless, but the whole speech is actually full of hope. The monarch was recently hospitalized, so the statement also seems to hint her increasing lack of hope for a better health, for some who have heard it.

Queen Elizabeth scheduled to attend in person at Church House, the Westminster headquarters of the Synod, on Thursday, but her presence was canceled due to health concerns, after her absence from Remembrance Sunday.

Almost a month ago, after spending the night at King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone, London, for preliminary examinations, the 95-year-old was recommended to relax by medical professionals.

Since its inception in 1951, the Synod has never had a monarch absent from its five-yearly meetings.

As part of her virtual speech at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow earlier this month, Her Majesty cautioned that "none of us will live forever."

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In her 95-year-old statement to bishops and clergy, her youngest son Edward, who read the speech, lauded the institution for providing "hope" amid the epidemic.

He said on his mother's behalf, "It is hard to believe that it is over 50 years since Prince Philip and I attended the very first meeting of the General Synod."

"None of us can slow the passage of time; and while we often focus on all that has changed in the intervening years, much remains unchanged, including the Gospel of Christ and his teachings," he added.

When the Queen made her statement, she reminded the church of its "heavy responsibility" to make a "difficult decision" about how the church should go in the future.

"In some areas, there will, of course, be differing views and my hope is that you will be strengthened with the certainty of the love of God, as you work together and draw on the Church's tradition of unity in fellowship for the tasks ahead," she said.

He said that the Archbishop of Canterbury had told the Earl that the church had a great deal of comfort in the Queen's prayers.

In her speech, Her Majesty also discussed the toll the coronavirus epidemic took on people of all religions.

"Of course, in our richly diverse modern society, the well-being of the nation depends on the contribution of people of all faiths, and of none," she reportedly said.

'But for people of faith, the last few years have been particularly hard, with unprecedented restrictions in accessing the comfort and reassurance of public worship," her speech further went.

She added that for many, the pandemic has became a massive time of grieving and being weary.

"Yet the Gospel has brought hope, as it has done throughout the ages; and the Church has adapted and continued its ministry, often in new ways, such as digital forms of worship," she reminded.

The speech followed an opening ceremony at Westminster Abbey attended by Edward. the Archbishop of Canterbury led a number of prayers for the Queen's youngest son.