Queen to miss Remembrance weekend events after falling ill with chest infection

The Queen will not be joining other members of the royal family for a full schedule of Remembrance events as she continues to fight a chest infection.

Buckingham Palace confirmed a disappointed Camilla will not go to the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening, nor attend the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph on Sunday.

It is understood there is no downturn in her condition, but the Queen is said to be mindful of minimising the risk of passing any last lingering infection to others.

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.”

The Queen is said to be mindful of passing any lingering infection to others after she was forced to pull out of an Olympic and Paralympic reception at the Palace and the opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey earlier this week due to developing the bug.

Her doctors have erred on the side of caution in case a return to public duty this weekend – involving standing outside for a prolonged period in unpredictable weather – would set back a full recovery.

The service at the Cenotaph is an important fixture in the royal calendar and holds deep personal meaning for the Queen, through her official connections to the armed forces and because of her late father Major Bruce Shand’s military service.

She plans to return to London early next week if royal doctors give her the go-ahead, but is currently remaining in Raymill House in Wiltshire.

While Camilla will be absent, the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from cancer, and the King, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, are attending both Remembrance events.

Kate is making two rare appearances alongside Charles, the Prince of Wales and other royals a month after her last official engagement.

It marks the next significant step in the princess’s gradual return to public royal duties and comes after William spoke of how 2024 had been “brutal” and had “probably been the hardest year in my life”.

Asked by reporters how his year has been, he replied: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life.”

William added: “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for ­handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”

In a video Kate released in September, she revealed she had finished her chemotherapy treatment and spoke of how she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months”.

But she added her focus was “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.

Charles, who recently completed his first long-haul overseas tour since his own cancer diagnosis, will lay a wreath of poppies on Sunday at the base of the memorial, leading the nation in tribute to its fallen servicemen and women.

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.

William will also leave a floral tribute – featuring the Prince of Wales’s feathers and a new ribbon in Welsh red – at the historic Portland stone monument.