assembly hall; meeting place; venue; site; grounds
to be noisy; to be astir; to be abuzz; to be in commotion; to be aflutter; to be unsettled
to resound; to echo; to reverberate
past middle age; nearing old age; near-elderly; age 40
strict; severe; stern; rigid; rigorous; tough
Your Highness; His Highness; Her Highness
health problem; poor physical health; bad shape; feeling unwell
everyone; everybody; ladies and gentlemen
to grow weak; to become weak; to lose strength
more or less; though not quite satisfactorily; tentatively; for the time being; just in case; once
to steel oneself to; to brace oneself
essential; important; crucial; vital; main
lateness; tardiness; arriving late
there's no (other) way; cannot be helped; unavoidable; it's no use (doing); pointless; hopeless (person)
physical condition; state of health; shape
to profit; to benefit (from); to benefit (someone or something); to be beneficial to; to make good use of; to take advantage of
some; few; a number of; somewhat; to a certain extent; a bit
to wait and see; to see how the land lies
unwell; in a bad state; not working properly; out of order; inconvenient; troublesome
queen (consort); empress (consort)
healthy; robust; strong; solid; durable
the very image of health itself; picture of health
now that you say that; now that you mention it
important; having a high status; having standing; exalted; of high station
enjoyment; pleasure; amusement; anticipation; looking forward to; something to look forward to
out-of-place; inappropriate; sticking out like a sore thumb; produced at an unorthodox location
bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh
dejectedly; sorrowfully; crestfallen
envious; jealous; enviable (position, etc.)
to choke; to be choked (by); to sob convulsively
outside ...; beyond ...; not included in ...
in any case; regardless; either way; since it makes no difference anyway (you might as well ...); since it won't change the outcome; if you are doing it regardless
to stagnate; to settle (at the bottom); to deposit; to become sluggish; to become dull; to be delayed
the other day; previously; last time; last (Sunday, summer, etc.); previous (e.g. mayor, chapter)
there is nothing; having nothing
ground; earth's surface; land; lot; plot