Queen Elizabeth Health Update: British Monarch Feeling 'Better' Amid Heavy Cold That Prompted Death Rumors

Queen Elizabeth II is feeling "better" after suffering from a heavy cold, her daughter, the Princess Royal, said Sunday. Concerns over the British monarch's health intensified after she missed a New Year's Day church service at Sandringham.

Princess Anne thanked well-wishers outside the church after attending the service with her father Prince Philip, brother Prince Edward and other royals. The queen also missed the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham for the first time in decades.

Buckingham Palace said that the queen is "still recuperating" from a heavy cold, and missing church was a "precautionary measure" in cold and wet weather and there was "no sense of undue concern."

Later Sunday, the palace released a pre-recorded video of the queen sending her congratulations to the people of Canada for the 150th anniversary year of Confederation.

"On this eve of national celebrations, my family and I are with you in spirit," she said, in the video. "We pray that God will bless Canada and that over the next 150 years, Canadians will continue to build a better country and a better world."

The queen has not been photographed since Dec. 9, when she attended a function at Buckingham Palace.

Following reports of the queen's illness, several false news stories reporting the queen’s death circulated on social media. A fake BBC news account tweeted that the queen had died forcing the Palace to issue a statement denying the tweet, saying the queen is still alive.

The 90-year-old’s health condition has also sparked questions about who will succeed her if she decides to give up the throne or if she dies. Her eldest son Prince Charles is the first in line for the throne of England followed by Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.