1 week Ago By Evening Standard
is returning to public duties on Tuesday after a chest infection forced her to watch the service from home. has announced that Camilla is attending a Booker Prize reception at Clarence House on Tuesday, but will meet guests for a shorter period than planned. Camilla will also still attend a Palace reception with the King on Wednesday to celebrate the TV and film industry, but she is not expected to be present for the entirety of the engagement.
She has also pulled out attending the star-studded Gladiator II premiere on Wednesday evening. The changes to her diary are understood to have been made to protect and prioritise her continued recovery, with royal doctors keen to prevent any setback from a nasty seasonal illness. It comes after the Queen watched the moving Remembrance Sunday service from home while she recuperated from a chest infection.
Camilla observed the two minutes' silence privately as she followed the proceedings live on television at Raymill, her Wiltshire house, after doctors ordered her to miss the annual ceremony. She was said to be disappointed not to be able to join the royal family including the King and the Princess of Wales at the Cenotaph to see the parade in remembrance of the servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Royal doctors ruled out her attendance during the commemorative weekend, urging Camilla to take a few more days rest to fully recover after she caught a seasonal bug following her long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa.
There was also concern she might pass on the illness to others, with the King still undergoing treatment from cancer, and Kate recovering from the disease. Camilla's wreath, as is the custom even if she had attended, was placed at the Cenotaph on her behalf by her equerry Major Ollie Plunket, of The Rifles. On it was a handwritten tribute from the Queen which read "In everlasting remembrance" and was signed "Camilla R".
The ring of poppies closely resembles the one used for Charles's late beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother. The Queen is said to have dearly wanted to pay tribute in person to the nation’s war dead at the weekend. The service at the Cenotaph was an important fixture in the royal calendar and holds deep personal meaning for Camilla, through her official connections to the armed forces, and because of her late father Major Bruce Shand's military service.
But royal doctors ordered her to have another few days’ rest to get back to full strength, meaning she also missed the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the on Saturday evening..
