King Charles III Accepts Flowers for Queen Camilla, Who Misses Royal Variety Performance Due to Illness

On Friday, King Charles III received flowers intended for the Queen upon his solo arrival at the Royal Variety Performance. Buckingham Palace had announced earlier that day that Queen Camilla would be absent from the event due to “lingering post-viral” symptoms stemming from a recent chest infection. Medical professionals recommended that the 77-year-old Queen prioritize rest during her ongoing recovery from the infection, which had previously led to her withdrawal from numerous scheduled engagements, such as Remembrance Sunday. Although she resumed public duties the previous week, she reportedly remained unwell following a demanding schedule of engagements. On Wednesday, the Queen attended an event at the University of London, where Princess Anne conferred upon her an honorary doctorate of literature. According to a Palace source, the Queen expressed disappointment at missing the yearly event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, but affirmed her belief that “the show must go on.” The source further stated, “She hopes to be back to full strength and regular public duties very soon.” An eight-year-old presented King Charles with a posy intended for the Queen upon his arrival at the performance. These flowers originated from the gardens of Brinsworth House, which serves as the Royal Variety charity’s nursing home. Amanda Holden and Alan Carr are hosting Friday’s performance, which will feature Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish performing a musical selection from their new production, The Devil Wears Prada. Adjustments had been made to the Queen’s return to public engagements to prevent any hindrance to her recovery. Among other events she attended last week were a reception she hosted at Clarence House for authors nominated for this year’s Booker Prize and a Buckingham Palace reception honoring the TV and film industry. Both engagements concluded earlier than initially scheduled. The Queen’s chest infection developed less than a week after her return from a trip to Australia and Samoa with the King, a journey that included a stopover in India on the return leg. When announcing the infection earlier this month, Buckingham Palace stated: “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest.” The Palace indicated that she had cancelled her engagements “with great regret.” In February 2023, the Queen had previously missed a week of engagements due to illness after testing positive for Covid. This marked her second contraction of the virus, having first experienced it the preceding year. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.