Queen Camilla Is Sick With Chest Infection, Will Miss Remembrance Event

Queen Camilla is shifting her schedule this week after falling ill with a chest infection.

On Nov. 5, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen, 77, would be represented by Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester at the annual Field of Remembrance event at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Queen Camilla will not attend the commemoration as she is currently sick with a chest infection and has been advised by doctors to take a short period of rest, according to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

The update means that the Queen will clear her work calendar for the next few days and will no longer co-host a Buckingham Palace reception alongside King Charles for medalists for Team Great Britain that competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games, scheduled for Nov. 7. 

While the Queen regrets that last-minute change in plans, it’s understood that she hopes to recover in time to join the royal family for the Remembrance events happening this weekend. For generations, the British royals have honored lives lost in war on Remembrance Sunday, Nov. 10 (the day before Veteran’s Day in the U.S.) by appearing at The Cenotaph war memorial in London.

Though Kate Middleton is not fully back to royal work after announcing on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy treatment, it emerged then that the Princess of Wales hoped to join her family at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday as well.

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In the meantime, Queen Camilla is resting up at home under the care of her doctors. Later this week, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester will represent her by appearing at the Field of Remembrance. The tradition will continue for its 96th year, inviting veterans and the public to plant a poppy to honor those who lost their lives in the Armed Forces. 

Queen Camilla is patron of the charity The Poppy Factory, which supports members of the Armed Forces and their families as they seek employment. On Thursday, Birgitte, who is a full-time working royal and married to Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, will be there in her stead.

Queen Camilla and King Charles, 75, recently returned from a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa, his first trip to a Commonwealth realm of his royal reign as he continues treatment for cancer.