Queen Camilla was pretty busy last week. She was the most senior royal and de facto hostess for King Constantine’s memorial service in Windsor last Tuesday. She hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. On Thursday, she was once again at Buckingham Palace, this time hosting a semi-private meeting with Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine. Sure, “working three days in a week” is not some huge deal for most people, but Camilla is basically the only royal who has been consistently doing events since mid-January. Everyone else (except Anne) has been MIA, on vacation or mysteriously disappearing for weeks at a time. All of which to say, Camilla’s orthopedic wedges have been worked down to the nub and she’s taking the next week off. No one will see her until Commonwealth Day (March 11).
The Queen will take a break from official duties after leading the monarchy in public since the King’s cancer diagnosis was revealed on February 5. Camilla, 76, has no engagements in her diary this week, and it is understood that she will spend a few days of private downtime with the King and her own family. She will resume engagements on March 11, when she will represent Charles and lead the royal family for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Camilla has undertaken 13 official engagements since Charles’s cancer diagnosis was announced last month, ploughing on with her own diary and attending events solo where she was due to have been with her husband.
A royal source said: “Although she was not expecting to find herself in the position of leading the family, the Queen is absolutely prepared to do whatever needs to be done for the institution. She has been buoyed by the public’s reaction. She has found reserves of energy that even she didn’t think she had, and the estimation of her by those inside the palace has soared as she has put her shoulder to the wheel.”
Another source close to the Queen said: “Her Majesty is robust, positive and determined to keep going while the King is off public duties. The King is proud and pleased to see the show is being kept on the road by the Queen and the wider family.”
During the Queen’s short break this week, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will all undertake public engagements. The Princess of Wales, who has not been seen in public since Christmas Day, is continuing to recover at home in Windsor after abdominal surgery in January, and is expected to resume public duties after Easter.
You might assume, given the quotes provided to the Times, that Camilla is going to spend the next week sitting in her coziest recliner at Ray Mill with a Stanley Cup full of gin. You would be wrong! After spending a few days at Ray Mill, Camilla is jetting off “overseas” today, according to the Daily Mail. She’s “jetting off on a private flight” and no one is saying where? Given the quotes given to the Times – “Her Majesty is robust, positive and determined to keep going” – you should assume the opposite, meaning Camilla is exhausted AND most of the people in the palace are unhappy that she’s jetting off.
I keep thinking about how Sophie and Edward quietly went on a ski holiday with friends, traveling by private jet and enjoying themselves in St. Moritz, the playground for the rich. Sophie and Ed skipped Constantine’s memorial service too, and honestly, the Edinburghs haven’t really been pulling their weight this year at all. Maybe Camilla was like “well, I deserve to have a week off too!”
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.