Camilla to take a break after shouldering The King’s burden
Queen Camilla will take a break from official duties after leading the monarchy in public since King Charles’s cancer diagnosis on February 5.
Queen Camilla will take a break from official duties after leading the monarchy in public since King Charles’s cancer diagnosis on February 5.
Camilla, 76, has no engagements in her diary this week, and it is understood she will spend a few days of private downtime with the King and her family.
She will resume engagements on March 11, when she will lead the royal family for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Charles, 75, has withdrawn from public duties while he undergoes treatment but is continuing to work on his red boxes and other state duties in private.
Camilla has undertaken 13 official engagements since Charles’s cancer diagnosis was announced last month, ploughing on with her own diary and attending events solo where she was due to have been with her husband.
Last week, she led the royal family at a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and hosted a reception afterwards. She is the most senior member of the royal family undertaking public duties.
On Wednesday, she hosted a reception for the “500 words” children’s creative writing competition at Buckingham Palace and met the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, on Thursday.
A royal source said: “The Queen is absolutely prepared to do whatever needs to be done for the institution.
“She has been buoyed by the public’s reaction. She has found reserves of energy that even she didn’t think she had, and the estimation of her by those inside the palace has soared as she has put her shoulder to the wheel.”
Another source close to the Queen said: “Her Majesty is robust, positive and determined to keep going while the King is off public duties. The King is proud and pleased to see the show is being kept on the road by the Queen and the family.”
During the Queen’s short break the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will all undertake public engagements.
The Princess of Wales, who has not been seen in public since Christmas Day, is recovering in Windsor from abdominal surgery in January, and is expected to resume public duties after Easter.
At the Commonwealth Day service Charles will deliver his first broadcast since his diagnosis in an effort to reassure the public after a challenging period for the monarchy. He will address the nation and the Commonwealth with a televised message to be shown during the service in which he is expected to speak of his commitment to the “family of nations” of which he is head, thank people for their good wishes and cite this year’s theme of “resilience”.
The King had considered the option of Prince William reading out the message on his behalf, but it is understood he is keen to show his commitment to the Commonwealth with the message, which will be broadcast on BBC One and across the royal family’s social media channels.
Last year, Charles broke with tradition and read out his message during the service. Queen Elizabeth previously issued only a written statement.
Buckingham Palace is continuing to plan for Charles and Camilla’s attendance at this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October, but it is understood a final decision will be taken later in the year, depending on the King’s health.
It comes after a difficult week for the royal family. On Tuesday, William withdrew from King Constantine’s service, where he was due to have given a reading in memory of his godfather, at short notice, citing a “personal matter”.
It prompted a flurry of unfounded speculation on social media about Catherine, 42, who Kensington Palace insists “continues to do well”. He is thought to have found the level of social media commentary around his personal and family life challenging.
William, 41, resumed engagements on Thursday, visiting a London synagogue where he heard about the rise in antisemitism, and visiting Wales on Friday for St David’s Day.
In the King’s absence, the sight of the Duke of York leading a contingent of the royal family into King Constantine’s service, before Camilla’s arrival in accordance with protocol, also raised eyebrows.
Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties in 2019 over his friendship with the late convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. Some in royal circles feel the optics around Andrew’s attendance at the event should have been better managed, while others wearily concede “the Duke of York is unmanageable”.
The royal family was also in shock and mourning last week after the death of Thomas Kingston, 45, husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. An inquest on Friday heard that he was found dead at his parents’ Gloucestershire home last Sunday with a “catastrophic head injury” and a gun close to his body.
The royal family will be hoping for a more positive week ahead, when its focus turns to Prince Edward, who will celebrate his 60th birthday on Sunday.
While Charles has long been a fan of a “slimmed-down” monarchy, the current iteration is putting pressure on those still able to work.
The vast majority of royal engagements are being performed by Edward and his wife, Sophie, 59, and Anne, 73, who has earned a reputation as the hardest-working royal. Since 1979, she has completed close to 24,000 royal engagements, according to royal watcher Tim O’Donovan, who has been submitting a yearly tally to The Times since then.
In January and February of 2019, when the Royal Family was at full strength, 18 working members carried out 460 engagements between them. For the same period in 2023 – a pandemic and an exodus of characters later – that number fell to 368. This year just 226 engagements were carried out over the same period.
