‘Unwell’ Queen withdraws from engagements
The Queen has been forced to pull out of her planned engagements this week after suffering a chest infection, Buckingham Palace says.
Queen Camilla , 77, is resting at home while she recovers but no further details of her illness have been given — as is usual with royal medical issues.
“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” a palace spokesperson said.
“With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week, but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.”
The illness means the Queen, the King’s second wife who he married in 2005, will miss this year’s Field of Remembrance event at London’s Westminster Abbey on Thursday. It allows former service personnel and others to plant a poppy memorial to remember those who have lost their lives in the armed forces.
She will also be unable to attend a reception for Olympic and Paralympic medal winners from this year’s Paris Games.
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“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” the palace spokesperson said.
Her place will be taken by the Duchess of Gloucester.
Chest infections — an infection of the lungs or large airways — are common, especially after a cold or flu during autumn and winter.
Most chest infections are mild and clear up on their own, others can be severe and sometimes even life threatening.
The most common symptoms of a chest infection include a persistent cough, wheezing, breathlessness, a high temperature, coughing up phlegm, a rapid heart rate and chest pain or tightness.
People may also experience headaches, aching muscles and tiredness.
To ease symptoms people are advised to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.
The main types of chest infections are bronchitis and pneumonia.
The King is still undergoing treatment for cancer that was diagnosed back in February, forcing him to cut back on some of his engagements. However, he and the Queen recently travelled to Australia and Samoa.
The couple enjoyed a stopover at a holistic health centre in India on the way back.
“On behalf of the whole country, I wish Her Majesty the Queen a speedy recovery,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X.
William visits South Africa
In other royal news, Prince William has joined forces with Australian wildlife warrior Robert Irwin during a visit to South Africa.
The Prince of Wales is in the country for his annual Earthshot Prize, which offers $US1.2 million ($A1.8 million) in grants to five organisations for innovative environmental ideas.
Irwin, an Earthshot ambassador, posted a video of the pair taking a stroll at Signal Hill, a tabletop landmark in Cape Town.
“G’day, it’s Robert here, with, of course, Prince William,” he wrote.
“We’re in South Africa, one of the most amazing countries and continents for wildlife – do you have a favourite African animal?”
The future king responded: “My children ask me this regularly. I think it’s going to have to be the cheetah.”
Irwin told William that cheetahs were “very cool”.
“It’s chameleons for me, the unsung hero, I love them,” Irwin continued.
“Thanks so much for having me, for having us, Earthshot Week has been amazing so far and I cannot wait for tomorrow night … South Africa rules!”
During his four days in Cape Town, Prince William was also attending a global wildlife summit and spending time at a sea rescue institute.
The centrepiece of his trip is the Earthshot awards ceremony on Wednesday night (local time).
He’ll use the visit to highlight other issues close to his heart, like the work of rangers on the frontline of conservation efforts, officials said.
William last visited Africa in 2018, but he has a strong connection to the continent.
He travelled to Africa as a boy after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997. He and his wife, Kate, got engaged at a wildlife conservancy in Kenya in 2010. And he said he came up with the idea for the Earthshot awards while in Namibia in 2018.
The Princess of Wales and the couple’s three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – did not travel to South Africa. Kate, 42, only recently returned to some public duties after completing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.
William’s trip follows soon after his brother Harry, the Duke of Sussex, visited South Africa and neighbouring Lesotho last month for a youth charity he set up with a member of Lesotho’s royal family.
William formed the Earthshot Prize through his Royal Foundation in 2020 to encourage ideas to solve environmental problems and it launched in 2021. The first awards ceremonies were held in Britain, the US and Singapore.
– TND/AAP
