Camilla cancels royal engagement in the West Midlands due to ‘seasonal illness’

The Queen Consort has postponed a royal engagement in the West Midlands tomorrow after ‘contracting a seasonal illness’, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Camilla was due to visit Elmhurst Ballet School in Edgbaston, Birmingham, to celebrate its centenary and then a library in Telford to thank staff and representatives from voluntary groups for their contribution to the community.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen Consort was suffering from a ‘seasonal illness’ but it was hoped a new date could soon be found for the events.

Camilla, 75, has a busy week ahead and the spokesman said she hoped to be feeling well enough to undertake an engagement on Wednesday.

Her last public appearance was on February 9, when she visited a centre for victims of domestic violence in Battersea, south London.

The Queen Consort has postponed a royal engagement in the West Midlands scheduled for tomorrow after ‘contracting a seasonal illness’, Buckingham Palace has announced

It’s not the first time the Queen Consort has been forced to pull out of an engagement due to an illness. 

Last year, the then-duchess of Cornwall cancelled a visit to the Cheltenham Festival, just a week after revealing her health was being affected by a second bout of Covid. 

She was due to attend the second day of the four-day race meet but was thought to be still suffering from a ‘slight cough’ after testing positive for the virus. 

Meanwhile in 2019, Camilla had to pull out of a remembrance service at Westminster Abbey because of a chest infection. 

She was due to attend with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but was told by her doctor to cancel her engagements due to a chest infection.

The wife of King Charles was also forced to pull out of a gala dinner to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Prince Albert on medical advice.

Camilla was due to have attended the London Library’s gala dinner but the central London event went ahead without its royal vice-patron.

Her illness also comes after a busy period in which she took part in a number of engagements across London.  

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen Consort (pictured with King Charles in Brick Lane, east London, on Wednesday, February 8) was suffering from a ‘seasonal illness’ but it was hoped a new date could be found soon for the postponed events

On Thursday last week, the Queen Consort toured the STORM (Support, Trust, Opportunity, Rebuilding and Motivation) family centre, where she met volunteers and locals to mark the organisation’s 19th anniversary.

It was founded in 2005 by local women to help each other recover from difficult situations and abusive relationships.

Camilla, who condemned a ‘pandemic’ of violence against women in the UK last December, looked eager to learn more about the centre’s initiatives.

And on Wednesday, she joined the King to visit Brick Lane in east London.

Camilla’s illness comes after a busy period for the Queen Consort, who last week took part in a number of engagements across London (pictured at STORM on Thursday with, from left, the Bishop of Dover, Mobo music awards founder Kanya King and STORM chief executive Marie Hanson) 

The royals met the movers and shakers of the London Bangladeshi community, visiting charities and businesses.

They also greeted individuals who were actively involved in the anti-racism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

The King and Queen Consort were welcomed by dancers in traditional clothes with basket of flowers as they walked down the historic east London street.