While welcoming throngs of people on a visit to Northern Ireland on Thursday, British Queen Camilla claimed her husband, King Charles, who is undergoing cancer treatment, was doing “very well”.
Since January, Charles has not appeared in public since undergoing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer. As a result, Camilla and Prince William, the heir apparent, have assumed the role of representing the royal family.
76-year-old Camilla made jokes with Belfast residents, telling bakery employees that a well-dressed little boy there was “a natural for the cameras” as he stole the show.
Handed a card by a schoolgirl outside a shop to wish her husband well, Camilla said: “Thank you. He’ll be delighted.”
Camilla and William have been out and about this week, meeting people and carrying out charity, holding the fort for the royal family while another of its star players, Kate, the Princess of Wales, also recuperates from a health problem.
Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter on March 31, following abdominal surgery for a non-cancerous condition in January.
Interest in her health has kept Kate in the headlines. Britain’s data watchdog said on Wednesday it was looking into a report that staff at the London hospital where she was treated had attempted to access her private health records.
Camilla, who loves books and has set up a reading charity, is due to attend an event later on Thursday celebrating Northern Ireland’s literary history, at Hillsborough Castle, hosted by poet Paul Muldoon.
