As Camilla reportedly takes a week off from royal duties, rumours reach fever pitch
She's spending some downtime with the King and her family, say media reports
Queen Camilla is reportedly taking a week off from royal duties, raising rumours and speculation about Britain's Royal Family to a fever pitch amid little public information about the health of King Charles and Princess Catherine.
On Saturday, the Sunday Times first reported that Camilla had her schedule cleared until March 11, when she's expected at Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day service. After leading the Royal Family with 13 public engagements since King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5, Camilla will take a break to spend some downtime with the King and her family, according to the Times.
The online royal diary notes that the Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Edward) and Anne, Princess Royal, will represent the Royal Family at most official engagements in the coming week.
Some royal commentators muse that Camilla's break is an indication the King's health must be improving, while others have questioned the timing and optics as other senior members of the Royal Family have had to step away.
Robert Finch, the dominion chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada, told CBC News that he believes it's just a brief break. Camilla has been doing a lot of heavy lifting lately, and it's important to remember that she's 76, he said.
"The Queen's supposed to be the supporting actor, but because of the King's health, she really has been in the lead. Let her have a breather and she'll be back," Finch said.
But this latest news comes as the line between public and private life for the royals is being tested. Questions have swirled about the health of two key members of the family since mid-January, when it was revealed within hours of each other that the Princess of Wales, 42, and Charles, 75, were both being admitted to hospital — Catherine, for planned abdominal surgery and Charles for treatment for an enlarged prostate.
In late January, the palace said in a statement that Catherine was making "good progress," was back at home in Windsor and was not due to return to public duties until after Easter. In February, Buckingham Palace announced Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, unrelated to his prostate, and would suspend his public duties.
There has always been speculation about the Royal Family, but social media allows rumours to spread quickly and widely, Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris told CBC News.
She said the Royal Family has already adapted its public life to the social media era, but there's debate concerning the best way to provide updates on royal private lives.
"It's unclear whether more personal updates will satisfy public curiosity or simply lead to demands for ever more intrusive details," Harris said.
Public vs. private life
While Charles has made a few appearances, such as being photographed receiving British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Feb. 21, Catherine hadn't been been seen publicly since Christmas Day.
Last week, after Prince William — who is Charles's eldest son and Catherine's husband — cancelled his appearance at King Constantine's memorial service for "personal matters," theories started swirling about his wife's whereabouts.
The hashtag #WheresKate and the term "Kate Middleton" took off on X, formerly Twitter — many of the posts satirical in nature — but the theme was the same: Why hasn't the public seen or heard from Catherine? Some joked that the princess is growing out bangs, while others wondered if her marriage was on the rocks or if she was recovering from plastic surgery.
None of the theories have been substantiated, and last Thursday, a spokesperson for the princess made a statement to several media outlets to dispel the rumours, saying she's "doing well."
"We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant," the spokesperson told People magazine.
On Monday, new photos published in various media outlets appeared to show Catherine in the passenger seat of a car being driven by her mother.
King Charles and Prince William "clearly" have different attitudes toward public interest in royal private lives, Harris said, adding that Charles has "been careful to make enough public appearances to counteract the more pessimistic speculation about his health on social media."
"William and Catherine are very protective of their own privacy and the privacy of their children, but Catherine's complete withdrawal from public life for an extended period of time is becoming the focus of speculation about her condition and recovery," Harris said.
Camilla in the spotlight
Camilla has always maintained a balance between her public and private life, Harris said, spending time with her two children from her previous marriage and her five grandchildren.
"Now that Camilla is Queen and there are fewer working members of the Royal Family, however, there is a greater expectation from the press and public that she place her royal duties and public life first above personal considerations," Harris said.
And she's been busy lately. Last week, for instance, Camilla met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, hosted a reception for BBC's 500 Words and attended a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece.
"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," a royal source told the Sunday Times. "She has found reserves of energy that even she didn't think she had."
Finch, with the Monarchist League, said the twinning health concerns necessitating two members of the Royal Family taking time off has really underscored how "short-staffed" they are.
"It really was never supposed to be like this," he said.
"In a different world, Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as Prince Andrew, would've been contributing members of the Royal Family."
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