Though the palace earlier said that Queen Camilla was recovering from the chest infection that forced her respite in early November, the 77-year-old queen says the virus is “[hanging] on for a little bit.”
After missing several events while she battled her illness, the queen consort hosted the prestigious Booker Prize ceremony on November 12, but had to leave before the winner was announced.
And now, her majesty is withdrawing from the Royal Film Performance of Gladiator II, leaving King Charles to strut the red carpet on his own.
After Charles, 75, and Camilla, 77, returned from their long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa, the king resumed his cancer treatment, and the queen was forced into bed rest while fighting some bug that left her with a chest infection.
Her illness required her withdrawal from many events, but the palace expected she’d return to public facing duties over the Remembrance Day weekend.
“Her Majesty the queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” a November 5th statement from the palace reads. “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…”
But the queen was absent from the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday, where King Charles placed a wreath on behalf of the nation at the memorial in Whitehall, central London.
Prince William, Kate Middleton – slowly returning to her public duties since her cancer treatment – and other royal family members joined the king to honor Britain’s deceased soldiers while Birgitte, the 78-year-old Duchess of Gloucester, stepped in on Camilla’s behalf at the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on November 7.
“While this is a source of great disappointment to the queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week,” said a palace aide, who explained that the queen spent several days resting at home under doctor’s orders.
On the same evening, King Charles hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, an event originally planned for Camilla to co-host.
On November 12, Queen Camilla, who says “literature has always been my passion,” attended the Booker Prize reception at Clarence House, however, she had to leave the event she was hosting before the winner was announced.
Before making her exit, she told one of the finalists that she “really wanted” to attend and that she’s “obviously getting much better…A bit of sort of coughing going on.”
“I think I’m on the mend, but these things always take a bit time to get rid of,” the queen said. “You think you’ve got rid of it, then they just sort of hang on for a little bit, but hopefully I’m on the mend now.”
On November 13, the king and queen are celebrating the centenary of London’s Film and TV Charity, a foundation that supports struggling cinema workers and their families.
However, as her illness is dragging on longer than anticipated, she’s pulling out of the highly anticipated premiere of Gladiator II at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square cinema in central London, leaving Charles to strut the red carpet on his own.
According to Newsweek, the 2024 movie is “the 72nd Royal Film Performance delivered by the charity, which marks its 100th anniversary this year.”
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