Queen Camilla Gives Health Update After Chest Infection Kept Her From Major Royal Events

Nov 14, 2024 by apost team

Health woes forced Queen Camilla to pull out of her scheduled royal engagements in early November 2024, a few days after her return from a tour of Australia and Samoa with King Charles in late October 2024. Buckingham Palace stated Camilla was suffering from a chest infection and that doctors had advised her to rest at home for a short period. 

This meant the 77-year-old was not present for the opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Instead, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, took her place. The 78-year-old working royal originally from Denmark is married to a cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Camilla was also set to host an event at Buckingham Palace that same evening for Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Princess Anne stepped in instead due to Camilla’s absence.

The palace, however, had implied there was no cause for alarm and stated Camilla would likely be able to attend Remembrance events at the weekend, including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, and a commemorative service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall the following Sunday morning.

“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” an official statement read.

The optimism and speediness surrounding the queen’s recovery initially suggested her illness was not serious and was more than likely the usual bug picked up from a long travel period. Camilla and Charles's tour of Australia and Samoa began in Sydney on Oct. 13, 2024, and ended in Samoa nine days later. After the tour, Camilla made a stopover in India on the way back to England to visit a health spa.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took to social media to wish Queen Camilla well, saying:

“On behalf of the whole country, I wish Her Majesty The Queen a speedy recovery.”

This year has brought several health challenges for the royal family. Early in the year, King Charles and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, both made their cancer diagnoses public and temporarily stepped back from royal duties for treatment and recovery. In recent months, King Charles has returned to many of his public duties while Catherine attended the Trooping the Colour in June and made a handful of public appearances since. She also revealed she had finished a round of chemotherapy in September 2024.

Meanwhile, Camilla has also endured physical injuries over the years. Camilla was said to have suffered a flare-up of sinusitis the week before her wedding to Charles in 2005. In 2007, at the age of 59, Camilla underwent a hysterectomy, a procedure that a spokesperson explained was not related to cancer.  

Camilla’s health came under scrutiny in 2023 during a trip to Kenya, where eagle-eyed royal watchers spotted Camilla’s hands shaking.

Apart from illnesses, Camilla has also suffered from a few physical accidents. During the funeral events for Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Camilla was recovering from a broken toe.

“She is in quite a lot of pain but she is just getting on with it. It is unfortunate timing to say the least but she’s been an absolute trouper,” a source told The Telegraph.

In 2010, during a walk at Charles’ Highland retreat on the Balmoral estate, the then-Duchess of Cornwall was 62 years old when she “took a tumble” while traversing the estate’s spacious grounds during the Easter break. Camilla was out of commission until after the break, with her leg in a plaster cast.

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The prognosis for Camilla’s return to health and her public-facing duties were slightly overly optimistic, as she still felt too under the weather to join King Charles and other members of the royal family for Remembrance Day events on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. However, Princess Catherine was in attendance for the solemn memorial to fallen heroes, as well as a historic eight former British prime ministers. As is custom, Charles was the first to lay the wreath at the Cenotaph.

Camilla also skipped the Royal Film Performance’s premiere of “Gladiator II” on Nov. 13, 2024, leaving Charles to step out on the red carpet solo. Charles is a patron of the Film and TV Charity, and the Royal Film Performance is one of its flagship events. 

It wasn’t all bad news, though, as Camilla did put in an appearance – albeit a short one – for an event at Clarence House on Nov. 12, 2024. She was on hand to congratulate authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize. 

Camilla was first greeted into the Garden Room by the Booker Prize Foundation’s chief executive, Gaby Wood. As they shook hands, Camilla told her:

“I’m obviously getting much better. A bit of sort of coughing going on. … I really wanted to come.”

Camilla briefly spoke to the six shortlisted authors in attendance, including American writer Percival Everett, who she had met previously in 2022 after he made the shortlist. To him, she said:

“I think I’m on the mend, but these things always take a bit time to get rid of. 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.”

Cutting the visit short, the queen left after spending a little less than 10 minutes there. However, Camilla’s appearance itself bolstered hope that she would soon be feeling 100% again.

What are your thoughts on Queen Camilla’s health woes and her latest bout of illness? Do you hope she will return to full form soon? Let us know, and then pass this along to fellow royal watchers, too.