Royal news - live: Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell with chest infection
Comes just weeks after a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa
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Your support makes all the difference.Queen Camilla is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest.
“With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.
“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”
It is understood the Queen will remain at home under doctor’s supervision while she recovers.
The Duchess of Gloucester, Brigitte, will step in on Camilla’s behalf to attend the annual Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.
The Queen will also miss the Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes hosted by the King on Thursday.
The announcement comes just weeks after King Charles and Camilla returned from on a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa.
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King ‘cuts financial ties to disgraced Prince Andrew after refusal to move out of home’
Charles and William face calls to abolish private estates
King Charles and Prince William are facing calls to dissolve their private estates after it was revealed they are making millions from Britain’s cash-strapped NHS and public services.
The two estates earned the royals upwards of £50mn in the last financial year, with both estates being exempt from paying corporation tax or capital gains tax.
The monarch and heir to the throne have sparked uproar after it was revealed they are benefiting from rental deals with public services - including the armed forces and state schools - on their private estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
“The solution is quite simple, abolish the Duchies,” spokesperson for Republic, Graham Smith, said.
He added: “The Dispatches investigation shows how the Duchies are doggedly pursuing profit at every turn, at huge expense to the public and charities.
“The Duchies are not private property, they are state assets. Parliament allowed the royals to maintain control over these estates when other land was surrendered three centuries ago. It’s time parliament abandoned that arrangement.”
Pictures show Prince Andrew’s run down £30m Royal Lodge
Shocking pictures have shown Prince Andrew’s £30m Royal Lodge in a state of disrepair amid reports King Charles withdrew his generous £1m annual “living allowance” after he refused to move out.
As Andrew’s financial woes continue to worsen, images have concerning large cracks in exterior walls of his 31-bedroom Windsor mansion.
Crumbling paintwork and black-mould covered roofing has sparked concern about the upkeep of the property, once lived in by the late Queen mother and King George VI.
The Charles’ disgraced brother has lived in the Royal Lodge for over 20 years, but has reportedly faced calls from the monarch to move out after his friendship with convicted paedophile Jefferey Epstein came to light.
Military Wives Choirs release new single to celebrate King’s birthday
The Military Wives Choirs have released a moving new song to mark the King’s forthcoming 76th birthday.
Charles has been honoured with a lullaby called November Sunday, which re-imagines the “chilly, foggy London night” he was born at Buckingham Palace in 1948, and the hope and joy of a recovering post-war Britain.
It also pays tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who was herself a “military wife”, and served in the Armed Forces.
Caroline Paxton, chair of trustees at the Military Wives Choirs, said: “November Sunday is our own heartfelt gift to His Majesty and was inspired by our deep appreciation and admiration for his service to this nation.”
She added: “We hope that he will enjoy listening to the song just as much as we will enjoy performing it.”
Royal estates ‘to earn millions from NHS, armed forces and state school rents’
The King and the Prince of Wales’ private estates have struck rental deals worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools, it has been reported.
An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times examined the land and properties the two leading royals own through the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
The investigation reported that last year the Duchy of Lancaster agreed a deal to store a new fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses at a cost of £11.4 million over 15 years.
It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the navy more than £1 million since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the Cornish coastline.
The duchy will also earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools, the investigation found.
Pictured: William lands in South Africa
The Prince of Wales has arrived in South Africa for his Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Wednesday.
William will start a four-day visit by meeting some of the 120 young environmentalists who will be supported during Earthshot Week in developing skills in leadership, storytelling and networking.
He will also have a high-level meeting with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, described as a “follow-up” to the leader’s state visit to the UK in 2022.
Camilla seen visiting refuge in new documentary
In her new documentary, Camilla is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with domestic abuse survivors about their deeply personal experiences.
Earlier this year, Camilla backed The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign to build two new refuges for women fleeing abuse. Thanks to generous donations from readers the initial £300,000 target has recently been reached, with more than £500,000 of donations pouring in so far and plans are already underway for the building of a second home.
Speaking about the importance of refuges in the documentary Camilla says: “You flee and you arrive at this haven. Room of their own, a door they can lock. And as time goes by, they start having their confidence restored and start their life anew.
“These refuges are literally life savers. Without these refuges, where would they go?”
Queen Camilla spotlights voices of domestic abuse survivors in powerful new documentary
In her first documentary feature since ascending the throne, Queen Camilla has given survivors of domestic abuse a powerful voice during a rare glimpse of her work as a senior royal.
The 90-minute film follows Camilla over the last year as she attends official engagements and never-before-seen private meetings with survivors and campaigners of domestic abuse.
She is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with survivors about their deeply personal experiences, as well as revealing what drove her to spend the last decade raising awareness.
Read the full story here:
Queen Camilla spotlights voices of domestic abuse survivors in powerful documentary
Camilla is seen visiting a refuge and meeting survivors as the documentary follows her on her mission to shine a spotlight on domestic abuse
William to meet young environmentalists during Earthshot Week in South Africa
The Prince of Wales is to join young environmentalists taking part in the inaugural Earthshot Prize climate leaders’ youth programme in Cape Town.
William will start a four-day visit to South Africa by meeting some of the 120 future leaders who will be supported during Earthshot Week in developing skills in leadership, storytelling and networking.
The future king is travelling to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony on Wednesday, and other related events during the week, when five category winners will each receive £1 million to scale up their plans to “repair” the planet.
William will meet members of the youth programme as they discuss their experiences of working on environmental issues on the first official day of the youth programme.
Before his visit to South Africa, he said: “Africa has always held a special place in my heart – as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and most recently as the founding inspiration behind the Earthshot Prize.”
King Charles severs financial ties with Prince Andrew
King Charles has instructed the royal purse-keeper to “sever” Prince Andrew’s annual £1 million allowance, according to royal writer Robert Hardman in a new book serialised by the Daily Mail.
The keeper of the privy purse was “instructed to sever [Andrew’s] living allowance” after the Duke of York refused to move out of his 30-room mansion the Royal Lodge into the smaller, nearby Frogmore Cottage.
“’The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,’ confirms one familiar with the situation,” Mr Hardman writes.
“’He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs - which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case.
“’But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter.’”
Prince Andrew’s £30m Royal Lodge in mouldy disrepair
Shocking pictures have shown Prince Andrew’s home in disrepair amid reports King Charles has withdrawn his £1 million annual “living allowance” after he refused to move out.
As Andrew’s financial woes continue, images have shown black mould and large cracks in exterior walls of his 31-bedroom Windsor home.
The King’s disgraced brother has lived in the Royal Lodge for over 20 years, but has reportedly faced calls from Charles to move out after his friendship with convicted paedophile Jefferey Epstein came to light.
Earlier this year, it was reported Andrew refused an offer to move out of the Royal Lodge into the nearby Frogmore Cottage, prompting the King to later axe the duke’s entire security team meaning he had to either finance for them himself or leave the mansion entirely.
This has now become a near impossible task as Andrew’s royal allowance is cut, according to royal author Robert Hardman. A source told him: “The Duke is no longer a financial burden on the King.”
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