The man in charge of looking after the Queen’s health is Professor Sir Huw Thomas, Head of the Medical Household and Physician to the Queen.
Sir Huw has been Head of the Medical Household since 2014 and was knighted last year after being invested with the Insignia of a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
It is likely the Queen wanted to thank Sir Huw personally for his care of her and the Royal Family.
The Queen
Jane Barlow
The man in charge of looking after the Queen’s health is Professor Sir Huw Thomas
Kirsty O'Connor
Sir Huw, who is also professor of gastrointestinal genetics at Imperial College London’s department of surgery and cancer, has previously spoken of how grateful he was to be recognised for his service.
Speaking at Imperial at the time of his knighthood, he said: “It’s been a busy couple of years in this role, so I feel very grateful to have been recognised for my service to date.”
He added: “You very much become part of that organisation and become the personal doctor to the principal people in it, who are patients just like other patients.
“With the pandemic, the key priority of the Medical Household is trying to make sure that the people under its care are kept safe.”
Sir Huw has also been involved in delivering some of the younger members of the royal family.
He was part of the team who looked after the Duchess of Cambridge when she gave birth to daughter Charlotte in 2015 and youngest son Louis in 2018 at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, alongside Guy Thorpe-Beeston, surgeon gynaecologist to the royal household, and consultant gynaecologist Alan Farthing, surgeon gynaecologist to the Queen.