The Queen is well again, leaves hospital early

Queen Elizabeth left hospital on Monday, a day earlier than expected, after making a good recovery from the stomach bug which had forced her to cancel her engagements this week.

Her Majesty, who will be 87 next month, spent less than 24 hours at the King Edward VII Hospital in London after falling ill at Windsor Castle on Sunday.

Buckingham Palace had suggested that she was likely to stay in hospital for "a couple of days" but the Queen emerged from the hospital in mid-afternoon looking well and smiling broadly as she thanked staff and shook hands with deputy matron Anne Jenkins.

Wearing a scarlet coat with a bow-shaped brooch, the Queen got into a waiting Bentley to return to Buckingham Palace. Sources there said she remained "in good spirits" but would still spend the remainder of the week resting and recovering from gastroenteritis.

The illness had forced her to pull out of a planned trip to Rome later this week, where she had been invited as a guest of the outgoing Italian president.

The Queen's next public outing is scheduled to be next Monday, when she will carry out a day of Commonwealth-related engagements, including a service at Westminster Abbey where Her Majesty will address a 2,000-strong congregation.

Her treatment for gastroenteritis will have involved making sure she did not get dehydrated, possibly by drip-feeding fluids.