Queen Camilla is canceling a number of planned engagements this week, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday morning. A week after she and King Charles III returned from a tour of Australia and Samoa, the queen is ill and resting at home. She will be unable to attend the Thursday opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, and will be represented by the Duchess of Gloucester instead. The 77-year-old queen consort is under doctors’ supervision and is still hoping to attend the annual Remembrance Day Cenotaph ceremony on Sunday.
“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” the palace said in a statement. “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. She apologizes to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”
The king and queen returned from their travels abroad, which included a private stop at a favorite meditation retreat in India, on October 30. While traveling, the king paused the treatment he has been undergoing since his cancer diagnosis, though aides told the BBC that “his health is on a positive trajectory.”
Ever since Kate Middleton concluded her own cancer treatment this fall, she has been working a reduced schedule, which included a recent visit to Southport to support the victims of a stabbing attack. When she announced that she was cancer free in September, sources told Vanity Fair that the princess was hoping to attend Remembrance Day events this weekend alongside other members of the royal family.
