UK's Queen Elizabeth cuts schedule with bad back

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) Britain's Queen Elizabeth has cancelled her appearance at an awards ceremony and trimmed other events from her schedule because of discomfort from a muscle strain in her back, her office said today.

The queen's Buckingham Palace press office said her daughter Princess Anne would appear instead of Queen Elizabeth at an ''investiture'' ceremony to issue state honours tomorrow.

''She's really just amending her programme rather than cancelling all her engagements. And obviously an investiture is one where she is required to stand for a long time,'' a spokeswoman said.

The queen will attend a reception later tomorrow but for a shorter period of time than initially planned, and would cancel a lunch and a visit to a housing shelter on Friday.

The palace has said the 80-year-old monarch strained a muscle in her back several weeks ago, and healing has been slow because of her hectic schedule. She cancelled a visit to a soccer stadium and a day at the races last week, but her aides say there is no serious risk to her health.

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