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

The Queen Consort has tested positive for COVID-19 after suffering from cold symptoms, Buckingham Palace has said.

‘With regret, she has therefore cancelled all of her public engagements for this week and sends her sincere apologies to those who had been due to attend them,’ the statement added.

Both King Charles and Camilla have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including a booster shot, and Camilla contracted the virus once in February last year. 

Earlier today, Camilla, 75, postponed a royal engagement in the West Midlands tomorrow after ‘contracting a seasonal illness’, Buckingham Palace had announced.

Camilla – who had a busy week planned – 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.

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

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. 

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

Camilla caught Covid early last year and had to cancel her appearance at a number of events in the aftermath of the illness.

The Princess Royal deputised for Camilla at the Cheltenham festival last March, as she was pacing herself after overcoming the virus. She also missed a Commonwealth event.

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.

‘With regret, she has therefore cancelled all of her public engagements for this week and sends her sincere apologies to those who had been due to attend them,’ the statement added. Camilla pictured with King Charles in Brick Lane, east London, on Wednesday, February 8

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. 

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. 

On Wednesday, Camilla, joined by the King, was due to host a Clarence House reception to celebrate the second anniversary of her online book club The Reading Room with authors and members of literacy charities.

The following day Charles and Camilla were scheduled to attend a reception at Milton Keynes to celebrate the metropolis being awarded city status as part of the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.