Queen Camilla Goes on Vacation During Royal Crisis

Queen Camilla has gone on vacation without King Charles III—who has cancer—and while Kate Middleton is out of action recovering from abdominal surgery.

The first few months of 2024 have been a pressured time for the royals after the king began regular treatment in early February.

The Princess of Wales had abdominal surgery in January and has been recovering at home, but a social media storm erupted last week as armchair investigators became fascinated by the absence of a picture of Kate since her operation.

Prince William also drew attention when he cancelled a planned reading at a memorial for his godfather at the last minute, with the palace saying only that it was due to a "personal matter."

Queen Camilla's decision to go on holiday without the king this week therefore raised eyebrows when the news broke at the weekend.

Royal biographer Robert Jobson, author of Our King, told Newsweek: "Optically some people may think it strange. But the King and Queen are self contained people who need their space. I would remind people Queen Camilla is 76 and that everyone needs a holiday."

Online, U.K. tabloid The Sun mocked up a picture of Camilla superimposed against a Caribbean-style island while their front page headline in print read: "EXCLUSIVE: ROYALS IN CRISIS. King has cancer, Kate on long-term leave, Wills in no-show and now.. QUEEN'S ORF ON HOLS."

Some were kinder, and Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Lots of talk today over her taking next week off but worth noting she goes on holiday this week most years!"

Meanwhile, some have also pointed out that, during recent royal absences, life might be a little easier for the royals if they still had Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the roster.

Royal expert Kristen Meinzer, former co-host of Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast, wrote: "And now Camilla is also taking a leave of absence. If only they had a spare to keep the royal machine afloat. Oh wait, they did, but they threw him, his wife, and their children under the bus."

The royal family's annual public funding was £86.3 million [around $110 million] in 2022-23, though additional public money is also spend on the police teams who protect the royals and their residences.

Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, told Newsweek: "The question they're going to be asked is what are we [British taxpayers] paying them all for because we chuck hundreds of millions of pounds at people and they don't seem to want to do anything.

"With Charles and Kate that's sort of understandable. If William is just bunking off without explanation and Camilla needs a holiday after 13 engagements then I think that's not a great look."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.