Queen Camilla abruptly pulls out of engagements: ‘Unwell’

The Queen has been forced to withdraw from a series of high-profile engagements, with the Palace confirming she is “unwell”.

IN LONDON

Queen Camilla is “unwell” with a chest infection and has had to abruptly withdraw from her upcoming engagements, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

The Queen, 77, was due to attend the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, but will now be replaced by the Duchess of Gloucester.

The queen is “unwell”. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

She has also had to cancel her appearance at the Palace’s reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, hosted by her husband, King Charles, which was scheduled for Thursday night.

“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.

“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 apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”

The Queen is now reportedly resting privately at home under medical supervision.

Her illness comes just days after she and the King wrapped up their tour of Australia and Samoa, and amid a challenging year for the royals’ health, with both the monarch and his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, diagnosed with unspecified forms of cancer.

The royal couple recently returned from Australia. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

While Camilla will now be laying low in the coming days as she recovers, she will still appear in a new ITV documentary focusing on domestic abuse, airing next Monday.

Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors was filmed over 12 months and features interviews with survivors, relatives who have lost loved ones and campaigners including former prime minister Theresa May.

Targeting domestic abuse has been a primary focus of the Queen in recent years, and she described it as a “heinous crime” in a preview for the new program.

She added that “it is going to take a long, long time” to end domestic violence but pointed out that “we have made a huge amount of progress”.