King Charles and Queen Camilla have barely been seen in public since they returned to the UK last week, following their tour of Australia and Samoa (and a private vacation at an Indian spa to boot). I figured that the long-haul journeys had knocked them both on their asses and they needed time to recuperate. Charles was seen (at a distance) at church on Sunday, and they both had several scheduled events for this week. But Camilla has now canceled her events, citing a “chest infection.”
Queen Camilla has pulled out of a number of scheduled engagements this week because of a chest infection, says Buckingham Palace. Doctors have advised a short period of rest at home, but she hopes to be well enough to attend Remembrance events at the weekend, says the Palace.
The Queen, who is 77, will miss the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, where she will be represented by the Duchess of Gloucester.
The Queen returned to the UK last Wednesday after a trip with the King to Australia and Samoa, which included a stopover in India on the way back.
It’s understood there is no cause for alarm – and her plans to attend engagements at the weekend suggest a relatively minor bug, of the type which could have been picked up during her long-haul travels.
The Remembrance events at the weekend will include the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday and the commemorative service on Sunday morning at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. But the Queen will not be at the Field of Remembrance commemoration on Thursday, an event where she has been the senior royal in recent years. The Queen will also miss a Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, which will be hosted King Charles on Thursday evening.
A statement from the Palace said: “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest. With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week, but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.”
It could be just a regular old chest cold or it could be something more serious. Given her age and the fact that she doesn’t seem to be in the best health normally, I suspect that her doctors are worried that even a seasonal cold could turn into something worse. I wonder if she got that cold which was going around in September – I had it and it sucked, it was surprisingly heavy. I also wonder if Camilla is fully Covid-boostered? Are they even testing for Covid over there?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.