Queen Camilla Pulls Out of Outing, Royal Family Member Steps Steps in

• Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester is representing Queen Camilla at a Remembrance event at Westminster Abbey
• Buckingham Palace announced on Nov. 5 that the Queen was ill with a chest infection and has canceled several outings
• Birgitte toured the Field of Remembrance memorial and met representatives from The Poppy Factory, a veteran’s charity Queen Camilla backs as patron

As Queen Camilla recovers from a chest infection, a rarely-seen royal family member is standing in for her at an official engagement.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester represented the Queen, who is resting privately amid a chest infection, at the annual Field of Remembrance event at Westminster Abbey in London. Birgitte, 78, stood in for Camilla after Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday, Nov. 5 that she was unwell with a chest infection and would cancel her engagements for the week.

The Duchess of Gloucester is a full-time working royal and married to Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, who is a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth. It emerged on Thursday that she would go to the event instead of the Queen, who is patron of the charity The Poppy Factory, which organizes the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.

It’s a rare occurrence for Birgitte to fill in for Camilla at an official royal engagement. 

“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” Buckingham Palace said in their Nov. 5 statement. “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 apologizes to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”

The palace added that though the Queen regretted her last-minute change in plans, she hoped to attend the royal family’s other Remembrance events this weekend.

Remembrance Sunday is marked on the second Sunday of November each year and is a national commemoration to remember the members of the Armed Forces across the U.K. and Commonwealth who lost their lives in conflict or war. The British royals pay their respects at the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph war memorial in London’s Whitehall, a solemn ceremony defined by a two-minute silence, laying of poppy wreaths and a ceremonial march past of thousands of veterans. 

Like Queen Camilla, Kate Middleton is thought to hope to appear at the Cenotaph ceremony on Remembrance Sunday as well. The Princess of Wales, 42, announced on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and a Remembrance Sunday appearance would be her first major royal event since. 

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Birgitte was welcomed to the ancient abbey by the Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster, where she met officials, including Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, the president of The Poppy Factory, and will later tour the memorial with her. 

Following a prayer service, the Duchess of Gloucester laid Queen Camilla’s personal Cross of Remembrance on her behalf, in memory of the Armed Forces personnel who died in the line of duty. The commemoration continued with a sounding of the Last Post and a recitation of an extract of “For the Fallen” by Admiral Jarvis as the Exhortation to Remembrance. Big Ben chimed from the nearby Palace of Westminster at 11 a.m., local time, followed by a two-minute silence. 

The silence concluded with the Kohima Epitaph — “When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today” — and Birgitte met senior representatives from The Poppy Factory and reviewed the 308 plots in the Field of Remembrance this year.

The Poppy Factory supports members of the Armed Forces and their families as they seek employment, and Queen Camilla has backed the organization as patron since 2013. The Field of Remembrance tradition is in its 96th year, where veterans and members of the public are invited to plant a poppy in honor of those who died in the Armed Forces. 

The Poppy Factory itself also has longtime links to the British royals. The charity’s support through employment for veterans with health conditions started at its original factory, which has been producing Remembrance wreaths for the royals and the Royal British Legion, a charity supporting members of the British military, veterans and their families in several sectors, since 1922. 

Queen Camilla and King Charles recently returned from a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa, their first official trip to a Commonwealth realm of his royal reign.