Friends of Queen Camilla have told The Daily Beast that they are “extremely concerned” by the 77-year-old contracting pneumonia.
Palace aides had attempted to play down the severity of her illness in recent weeks, saying that she was suffering from a “nasty bug” and a “lingering chest infection” but Camilla herself revealed Tuesday, during a state visit to the U.K. by the Emir of Qatar, that she had in fact contracted pneumonia.
Camilla’s revelation raised new question marks about the only partially transparent way in which the palace typically handles health news about its two most elderly principals. King Charles is being treated for cancer but the palace has declined to specify the type. The palace has form in this area; when the late Queen Elizabeth II was dying of bone cancer her aides consistently briefed she was suffering from nothing more than “episodic mobility problems.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Three separate friends expressed their concerns about Camilla to The Daily Beast. While all made it clear they understood Camilla was indeed recovering well and not in danger, they variously said they believed she was finding the demands of being queen “exhausting” and that a “brutal” year spent worrying about her husband’s health had left her “run down and vulnerable.”
One friend said: “People forget that Camilla never set out to be queen. She never signed up for the hamster wheel. She just happened to fall in love with a prince. She has risen to the demands of the job but she finds it exhausting.”
She is suspected to have contracted the disease during the recent state visit to Australia and Samoa or shortly thereafter. The friend said: “At 77, to be shipped off to the other side of the world to shake hands with thousands of people when your husband has cancer is, quite frankly, too much to ask. Camilla would never complain, and of course she wanted to support her husband, but she never should have been put in that situation. And she got pneumonia as a result. I hope this makes the mandarins sit up and take notice.”
Another friend of the couple told The Daily Beast, “We are all extremely concerned that this happened. Thank goodness she seems to have recovered. Camilla just needs to rest and recuperate now over Christmas and I only hope they drive her and the king to church on Christmas Day if it’s cold!”
A third friend of the queen’s told The Daily Beast: “Prince William said that his year had been ‘brutal’ and the ‘hardest’ of his life. I would humbly suggest that Camilla has had a brutal year too. To get pneumonia at her age is no small thing. She was run down and vulnerable and she needs to be cared for as well.”
Camilla has maintained a notably low profile since her return from the long haul trip in late October, skipping key events such as the Remembrance Sunday ceremonies which mark the end of the WWI and honors all veterans.
She is also taking a reduced role in the Qatar state visit which got underway in London Tuesday, avoiding standing for prolonged periods and not attending some aspects of the visit. She did attend the official dinner on Tuesday night, and looked spry.
Pneumonia is an umbrella term referring to an infection of the lungs causing inflammation in the air sacs (alveoli), which may fill with fluid. It can range from mild to life-threatening depending on the cause, age, and health of the individual.
The most severe cases involve bacterial pneumonia, often caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, leading to high fever, chest pain, and difficulty breathing.
Viral pneumonia, which the palace has implied Camilla has, can be caused by influenza or COVID-19, and is often milder, and is sometimes called “walking pneumonia.”
An official palace source said yesterday: “(The queen) has chosen to clarify… that the specific viral chest infection she had was a form of pneumonia. She has recovered well but continues to experience episodic symptoms of post-viral fatigue.”
