Buckingham Palace has confirmed the Queen will not attend the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening, nor the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph on Sunday.
A Palace spokesperson said: ‘Following doctors’ guidance to ensure a full recovery from a seasonal chest infection, and to protect others from any potential risk, Her Majesty will not attend this weekend’s Remembrance events.
‘While this is a source of great disappointment to The Queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week.’
It is understood there is no cause for alarm, and no downturn in her condition. The Queen is said to be mindful of minimising the risk of passing any last lingering infection to others.
The Princess of Wales, who is recovering from cancer and the King, who is still having ongoing treatment for cancer, are both attending the Remembrance events.
Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that the Queen (pictured) was cancelling her forthcoming engagements due to a chest infection.
The Queen has just completed a mammoth tour of Australia and Samoa with King Charles. The couple are pictured smiling together during a visit to a beach in Apia, Samoa
Queen Camilla pictured alongside the Princess of Wales during the National Service Of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in 2023
Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that the Queen, who has just completed a mammoth tour of Australia and Samoa with King Charles, was cancelling her forthcoming engagements due to a chest infection.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said at the time: ‘Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest.
‘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.
‘She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.’
The 77-year-old royal is understood to be recovering at home in Wiltshire and is being monitored by doctors.
Camilla’s condition meant that she had to reluctantly withdraw from the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday; with the Duchess of Gloucester, 78, standing in for her.
Camilla is resting at home in Wiltshire after falling ill following her long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa
Queen Camilla, 78, is set to return to work as early as next week to host a reception for Booker Prize shortlisted authors
The Duchess of Gloucester pauses during a visit to the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday. She stepped in for Queen Camilla who fell ill with a chest infection
She was also forced to cancel her appearance at a reception at Buckingham Palace in honour of the nation’s Olympic and Paralympic stars on the same day.
Camilla is expected to return to work as soon as next week when she will host a reception for authors shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize at Clarence House.
She is also set to attend the glitzy global premiere of Gladiator II at the Royal Film Performance in London’s Leicester Square next Wednesday evening.
Buckingham Palace announced the King and Camilla will meet the stars of the blockbuster, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Pedro Pascal, and director Sir Ridley Scott.
The reception will mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles is patron. The events are taking place on the eve of the King’s birthday, with Charles turning 76 next Thursday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer posted a get-well message to the Queen on social media. He wrote: ‘On behalf of the whole country, I wish Her Majesty The Queen a speedy recovery.’
King Charles and Queen Camilla attend a welcome ceremony in Apia, Samoa, on October 24
Queen Camilla waves while boarding an Royal Australian Air Force plane ahead of departing from Faleolo Airport in Samoa after the royal visit to Australia and Samoa on October 26
Camilla and the King have just undertaken a gruelling 11-day, 30,000-mile round trip, partly on commercial airlines. They spent around two weeks out of the UK for the nine-day official tour.
They stopped off in India for the luxury spa break on their return flight from Samoa, with the King following advice to take periods of rest to prioritise his cancer recovery.
The royal couple were reported to have spent three days at the £3,000-a-week holistic Soukya resort in Bangalore, known for its yoga programmes and Ayurvedic treatments.
The Queen has been focused on her husband’s health in recent months, telling author Lee Child in June that he was ‘doing fine’ but ‘won’t slow down and won’t do what he’s told’.
Charles, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February, paused his treatment to undertake his historic the trip to Australia in October.
The King and his daughter in law, the Princess of Wales, are both set to attend both the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
Kate is making a gradual return to public duties after completing a course of cancer treatment, with her last high-profile appearance at Trooping the Colour in June.
She has stayed home with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis this week while William was in Cape Town for his Earthshot Prize awards.
But Kate’s double appearance this weekend will be the first time she has carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements since the start of the year.
Kate attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on November 12, 2023
William and Kate at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 11, 2023
Tonight’s annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance will take place in the Royal Albert Hall. The event is staged annually on the Saturday evening of Remembrance weekend.
It honours sacrifices made by the British and Commonwealth armed forces community and includes musical performances and personal testimonies.
Also in attendance will be her husband William, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
This year’s festival will showcase the contribution of the Second World War generation 80 years on from the D-Day landings, and commemorate 25 years since Nato peacekeeping forces were deployed in Kosovo, and 10 years since the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
As is tradition, Kate will watch on Sunday from above on the nearby Foreign Office balcony, taking part in the two-minute silence and viewing the veterans’ march past.
Thousands of veterans proudly wearing their medals, military families and the public will gather in remembrance of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The King will lay a wreath of poppies at the base of the memorial, leading the nation in tribute to its fallen servicemen and women.
The design pays tribute to the wreath of Charles’s grandfather King George VI and his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The Royal Navy prepare for Sunday at HMS Excellent training base in Hampshire on Tuesday
The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on November 12, 2023
The wreath’s poppies are mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, which is traditional for the Sovereign, and its ribbon bears the King’s racing colours; scarlet, purple and gold.
The royal racing colours were also incorporated into the wreaths of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
Even if Camilla attends the service, her poppy wreath will be placed by an equerry from the Royal Household, as is the custom.
It will also bear her racing colours – brown, red and yellow – inherited from her grandfather, and echoes the wreath of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Both Charles and Camilla’s wreaths have been produced by the Poppy Factory.
William will lay the wreath previously laid by Charles as the former Prince of Wales, featuring The Prince of Wales feathers. The wreath bears a new ribbon in Welsh red.
Then on Monday, the Duchess of Edinburgh will attend an Armistice Service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Following the service, Sophie will place a wreath at the Memorial and will be invited to read an Armistice Day service reading. The day will then conclude with a tour of the Arboretum.