Prince William and Princess Anne are set to take over the reins from exhausted Queen Camilla as she takes a well-deserved break from work to jet off on a holiday overseas.
Her Majesty has been holding down the royal fort since King Charles’ shock cancer diagnosis in January, completing 13 official engagements solo since her husband’s condition came to light.
Camilla, 76, has no royal engagements planned this week and will spend a few days of private downtime with her family before jetting off on a private flight tomorrow.
She will be back in action on March 11 to represent the King at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Charles will instead release a video message to mark the occasion.
Last week she led the royal family at a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, after William, 41, was forced to suddenly pull out of the service for his godfather due to an unspecified ‘personal reason’.
Prince William and Princess Anne are set to take over the reins from exhausted Queen Camilla as she takes a well-deserved break from work
Last week, Queen Camilla was left leading the royal family at King Constantine of Greece’s memorial service after Prince William could not attend due to a unspecified ‘personal reason’
The Princess Royal (pictured with Queen Camilla last week) and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are set to undertake engagements as normal
His absence was not believed to be related to his wife, the Princess of Wales, who has not been seen publicly since undergoing abdominal surgery at the beginning of the year, or the sudden death of Thomas Kingston.
It left Camilla as the last key royals standing last week – sparking some concerns about the stripped back monarchy and questions of who is in charge during a time when so many key royals are out of the picture.
A Royal source told The Sunday Times: ‘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, close to the Queen, added: ‘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.’
While Camilla enjoys a well-deserved rest, William, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are set to undertake engagements as normal.
Camilla has been the most senior royal completing engagements, with the King continuing to work behind the scenes on his red boxes and other official duties while he undergoes treatment.
This included an engagement on Valentine’s Day, when Camilla went solo to Grosvenor House in London to an event celebrating Shakespeare, of whom the King, 75, is a lifelong fan.
Camilla has held 13 official engagements solo since King Charles was diagnosed with cancer. Pictured: The King leaving Clarence House last week
Queen Camilla has completed 13 official engagements since the announcement of King Charles’s condition last month
Camilla is greeted as she attends a thanksgiving service for the life of King Constantine of the Hellenes at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, on February 27
Camilla speaks with Frank Cottrell-Boyce during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London with finalists, judges and celebrity readers on February 28
Charles and Camilla attending the Sunday morning service at St. Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham last month
Royal author Ingrid Seward told The Sun on Sunday that Charles would have insisted his wife take a break.
She said: ‘He will see that she is exhausted. Camilla has had the ultimate worry about her husband’s health, but she has also been the one who has had to step up to the busy schedule of Royal engagements as well as wanting to be there for him and Kate while they each have had their health issues.
‘She certainly deserves some rest and relaxation.’
In what has become a typically busy solo schedule, last week Camilla led the royal family at the memorial service for King Constantine of Greece in Windsor, hosted a reception for the ‘500 words’ children’s creative writing competition at Buckingham Palace and met the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, at Clarence House.
A royal source told The Sunday Times that, while she never expected to lead the royal family, Camilla is ‘absolutely prepared to do whatever needs to be done for the institution’ and has been ‘buoyed’ by the public support since the King’s diagnosis.
It was also reported that Charles was ‘proud’ of his wife for keeping the show on the road.
Camilla shakes hands with nine year old Skylar Copeland during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London on February 28
Camilla has been picking up the extra load since King Charles’s shock diagnosis last month
King Charles and Queen Camilla wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Princess Catherine continues to recover from abdominal surgery at home with the support of her husband Prince William
Her public presence has also filled the gap left by the much-noted absence of the Princess of Wales, 42, which last week was the subject of hysterical social media speculation.
Kate continues to recover from abdominal surgery in Windsor and will not resume duties until after Easter.
The implosion in online theories about the Princess’s health swirled last week after William, 41, pulled out of the service for King Constantine at the last minute due to a ‘personal matter’.
He returned to work on Thursday, where he visited a London synagogue, before visiting Wales on Friday for St David’s Day.