Queen Camilla has been left heartbroken after being forced to pull out of taking part in todays Remembrance Sunday memorial service in London.
A chest infection meant she had to miss an Olympic and Paralympic reception at Buckingham Palace earlier this week, as well as the opening of the Field of Remembrance at nearby Westminster Abbey.
And it was confirmed yesterday that she would not be well enough to make todays ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London.
Her husband King Charles led the nation in remembering Britains war dead, placing a wreath at the Cenotaph as crowds including military veterans looked on.
His daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales watched from a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, alongside Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Queen Camilla, pictured attending last years National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in central London, has been forced to miss this years event due to a chest infection
Her husband King Charles led todays commemorations on Whitehall in central London
The King laid a wreath at the Cenotaph this morning to honour Britains war dead
Last night she had attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in west London, alongside her husband Prince William.
Also there was the King, who received a standing ovation and applause upon entering the Royal Albert Hall, and sat next to his sister the Princess Royal Princess Anne.
His wife the Queen had also missed out on last nights Festival, with the Palace saying she would stay away to ensure she made a full recovery from a chest infection and to protect others from any risk.
Camilla, 77, is said to have dearly wanted to pay tribute in person to the nations fallen servicemen and women this weekend - only to be denied.
The service at the Cenotaph is an important fixture in the royal calendar and holds deep personal meaning for the Queen.
She has official connections to the armed forces, as well as an emotional closeness due to the military service of her war hero late father Major Bruce Shand, who died aged 89 in June 2006.
He had joined the 12th Lancers as a second lieutenant in January 1937, before becoming a troop leader of A Squadron and then a lieutenant in 1940.
He served during the Second World War in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force and was awarded the Military Cross in July 1940 after helping cover the withdrawal of forces from Dunkirk.
He was then sent to North Africa as part of the 7th Armoured Division in September, as a captain, and won his second MC in January 1942.
Camilla is pictured with her father Bruce Shand at Westminster Abbey in London in February 2003 after a service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation
She and her husband King Charles recently paid a visit to Australia and Samoa - they are seen here together at a farewell ceremony in the Samoan village of Siumu on October 26
Though missing out this year, Queen Camilla watched last Novembers Remembrance Sunday commemorations alongside the Princess of Wales
Princess Kate is pictured here today alongside Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh
Later that year, in November, he was wounded in Egypt during the Battle of El Alamein and taken captive as a prisoner of war, before later escaping then returning to England at the wars end in 1945.
He retired from the armed forces in April 1947 due to disability and was given the honorary rank of major.
During the battle in which he had been wounded, two of Major Shands crewmen were killed - Sgt Charles Francis and Cpl Edward Plant.
In 2006, Camilla - then the Duchess of Cornwall - visited Egypt alongside her husband Charles and laid flowers at the two mens graves.
Major Shand had written a book in 1990 about his Second War War experiences, dedicated to his grandsons and based on letters and a diary he penned at the time.
These accounts had been sent to England via the Red Cross before being kept in the Historical Section of the War Office until 1970.
Camilla read extracts from the book at an event marking VE Day in May 2020, including his memories of the 1942 battle in which his two comrades died and also of when he escaped capture three years later and met US soldiers before returning to the UK.
She said: My father was a soldier in the war and we could never get him to talk about it.
But when the grandchildren came along, he started talking about it and we got him to write a small book about it.
Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, laid flowers in March 2006 at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in El Alamein, Egypt, paying tribute to two of her fathers late comrades
Camillas father Bruce Shand was twice awarded the Military Cross for his wartime efforts
Bruce Shand was awarded the honorary title of major after retiring from the Army in 1947
Camilla, pictured with her father Bruce Shand, has spoken about the importance of the military to her following his services in the armed forces
I think it was a huge load off his mind to be able to tell people about it.
And in April this year, the Queen paid a trip to meet members of her fathers old Lancers regiment at their base in Catterick, North Yorkshire - her first visit there since being appointed as their Colonel-in-Chief.
Camillas husband Charles and his son William were among those in the capital taking part in todays two-minute silence at 11am to honour those who died in conflict, with similar events taking place nationwide.
And Princess Kate carried out her second consecutive day of royal duties for the first time since it was revealed earlier this year she was being treated for cancer.
Wearing a black, military-style jacket, she could be seen wearing her traditional three poppies as she joined the nation in two minutes of silence.
The touching tribute remembers her great-grandmothers three brothers, who all lost their lives in the First World War.
The Princess appeared emotional as she quietly closed her eyes in remembrance, bowing her head in respect.
She was standing alongside the Duchess of Edinburgh, with Sophie seen to place a tender hand on Catherines shoulder as the pair returned indoors afterwards.
The Queen inspected her fathers old regiment, the Royal Lancers, at their Catterick base in North Yorkshire in April this year
It was her first visit there since being appointed the Royal Lancers Commander-in-Chief
The King took part in todays Cenotaph ceremony alongside his sister Princess Anne
Thousands of veterans took part in the march past the Cenotaph in central London
The Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh watched from a balcony at the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office HQ on Whitehall
Sophie was seen putting her hand on Catherines shoulder as they went back inside
Queen Camilla was presented with a fan during a ceremony in the Samoan village of Simiu during last months royal visit with the King to Australia and Samoa
The Royal British Legions parade involved 10,000 veterans, representing 326 different armed forces and civilian organisations.
And thousands of people lined Whitehall for the annual event, including a two-minute silence at 11am, while current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was joined by eight former PMs to lay wreaths.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the Second World War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo.
It also comes alongside the 75th anniversary of Nato and the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between the UK and France.