Despite the Queen’s personal feelings, the man on the golden throne is the top priority.
This year has been a trying one for the Royal family amidst the high-profile splits and the heavily publicized health problems faced by three of its senior members, including King Charles himself. Just this week it was announced that Queen Camilla had canceled immediate upcoming engagements due to a chest infection. Things had been looking up for the elderly Queen as she had booked an engagement at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall and an appearance at the Sunday service, but it turns out she won’t be able to attend those either.
The events, which commemorate those who fought and died in the First and Second World Wars along with later conflicts, are held across the Commonwealth. Hosted by the Royal British Legion in the U.K., the Festival of Remembrance and the Sunday service at the Cenotaph are two key events frequently attended by senior Royals and politicians from all parties in a show of remembrance.
The Queen, who is known to enjoy Remembrance events and has attended the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall as a senior Royal previously, definitely did not make the choice lightly.
A statement from Buckingham Palace revealed that Camilla is “following doctors’ guidance” and will be unable to attend any of the major Remembrance events, including the Sunday service at the Cenotaph. According to Buckingham Palace, this is a “source of great disappointment to the Queen.” The statement also notes that this is “to protect others from any potential risk.”
We, of course, wish the Queen well and for a speedy recovery, but the statement given by the Palace is very telling about where the true concern lies, despite containing only an allusion — the only “other” that runs the high risk of contracting an infection is King Charles and he is the one for whom it could prove deadly.
The King is receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer and is understood to be receiving a variety of treatments, including alternative treatments which have no basis in medical science and cannot truly be called medical treatments. But along with unorthodox treatments, the King is receiving chemotherapy, a treatment which can leave its recipients immunocompromised. As reported in Vanity Fair, Charles has even experienced a loss in taste as a result of his treatment.
Camilla is unlikely to be allowed to come too close to the King while there is any trace of the illness. Public appearances come with a degree of risk to the monarch, who is 75 years old in addition to his illness, so it’s unsurprising that the Palace would seek to minimize risks posed to the ailing king — even from his own wife — at such a critical time. He is already putting a lot of strain on his health with his many engagements, which include his recently completed international tour.
Given the peril his life is already battling, Camilla attending royal events will definitely take a backseat as long as she can inadvertently harm the king.
Published: Nov 10, 2024 12:07 pm