Queen Camilla says 'a bit of coughing going on' as she gives health update

The Queen attended a Booker Prize reception on Tuesday afternoon in her first public engagement since falling ill with a chest infection. Camilla joined shortlisted authors at Clarence House and the winner of the prestigious literary prize will be announced in the evening.

It is her first public engagement since she contracted the seasonal bug following her long-haul tour to Australia and Samoa two-and-a-half weeks ago. Camilla was due to be there for a shorter period than planned, joining guests only for a discussion and a group photograph.

The Queen's illness forced her to miss gathering with the King, the Princess of Wales and the rest of the royal family at the annual Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall the evening before.

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The Queen told Booker Prize Foundation chief executive Gaby Wood: "I'm obviously getting much better. A bit of sort of coughing going on. I really wanted to come."

She went on to speak with the six shortlisted authors and told Percival Everett: "I think I'm on the mend, but these things always take a bit of time to get rid of. You think you've got rid of it, then they just sort of hang on for a little bit, but hopefully I'm on the mend now."

She was greeted in the Garden Room of Clarence House by Ms Wood and chairman of the 2024 judges, Edmund de Waal. Camilla is an avid reader and patron of a number of literary organisations, and last year hosted the six 2023 Booker Prize hopefuls at Clarence House.

Her Reading Room project, launched during lockdown, has grown into a major initiative which now has a podcast attracting leading writers and a literary festival in its second year. This year's Booker Prize shortlist features the largest number of women authors in its 55-year history, with five women and one man.

The texts are James by Percival Everett, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner, Held by Anne Michaels, The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden and Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood. The winner will receive £50,000, in addition to the £2,500 awarded to each of the six shortlisted authors. Recent winners of the award include Bernardine Evaristo, Margaret Atwood, Douglas Stuart, Damon Galgut, Shehan Karunatilaka and Paul Lynch.