Queen Camilla could miss elements of Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. after a fresh health crisis hit the British royal family Tuesday.
Astonishingly, after the queen pulled out of a high-profile family funeral, citing “acute sinusitis,” just hours before Air Force One was due to land in London, Buckingham Palace could not rule out that she would not skip any elements of Trump’s state visit.
While insisting the queen was “recovering” from the virus, the best the palace could say about her attendance at this week’s events was that she “hopes” to be present at them all.
The move immediately raised suspicions on social media that Camilla was trying to wriggle out of being pictured alongside Trump.
A friend of Camilla’s told the Daily Beast that there was “no way” Camilla would try to snub Trump and that she would not want to let her husband down.
The palace said Camilla had traveled from Scotland, where she and Charles had spent several weeks, to Windsor on Tuesday.
She had been due to attend the funeral of the Duchess of Kent, who was married to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin, along with her husband and other senior royals. The Duchess of Kent was a Catholic who quit her royal duties to become a music teacher, and a message from Pope Leo was read out during the service.
Among the attendees was disgraced Prince Andrew. His appearance was yet another reminder of the slew of problems facing King Charles, who is himself battling cancer.
The palace issued a statement just before the funeral, saying, “With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis. Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family.”
The palace further briefed journalists that Camilla “hopes to have recovered sufficiently to attend all elements of the State Visit and this week’s other engagements in what is scheduled to be a very busy program.”
Camilla’s decision to skip the funeral is one thing, but to let it be known that she has been very unwell risks—notwithstanding her “hopes” to take part in the whole state visit—being interpreted as a political gambit if she ends up not joining the public elements of the Trump visit, and thereby avoiding having to stand next to the controversial president in photographs.
She did meet him during his 2019 state visit.
The packed schedule this time sees the president and first lady Melania Trump spending a full 24 hours at Windsor Castle as guests of the royals, but much of the time the two couples are scheduled to spend together will be behind closed doors.
Asked if Camilla was pre-baking an excuse to snub Trump, a friend of Camilla’s told the Daily Beast: “There is no way she would shirk her duty. She knows how important this is to the government and her husband. Her job is supporting him.”
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