Queen Camilla was out and about on Wednesday, visiting a new cancer care facility in north London. While King Charles has cancelled official engagements for a brief period to recover from a procedure for an enlarged prostate, Queen Camilla has continued with her busy schedule of royal engagements. 

Camilla was on hand Wednesday to officially open Maggie’s Royal Free, a new center created by the charitable organization, Maggie’s, which provides free cancer care and support across the UK and online. The occasion was particularly important to Camilla, who is patron of Maggie’s and was invited by the charity’s Chief executive Dame Laura Lee, who greeted Camilla with a kiss. 

When asked by guests how King Charles was doing following his three-day hospital stay, Camilla replied, “He’s getting on, doing his best,” before adding, “thank goodness.”

On Tuesday, Camilla hosted an event at Windsor Castle to commemorate one of the largest and most famous dolls' houses in the world – built for King George V's wife in the 1920s. Sources close to the Queen say she has been determined to fulfill her engagements while Charles takes some time off to recuperate. Her appearance at the new center marks her seventeenth visit to Maggie’s, but her first as Queen. The charity is very dear to Camilla, who lost her father to cancer and as well as several close family friends. She has been patron of Maggie’s since 2008 and has visited many of its centers around the UK. 

With King Charles on leave, sources close to the royal family have been keen to point out Camilla’s “extraordinary” level of commitment to her duties. “The Queen has been pretty remarkable,” one source told Vanity Fair. “While her husband has been in hospital she was by his side and also making sure she didn’t neglect her own duties.

She is incredibly committed and doesn’t want to let anyone down even though as a family they are going through a challenging time. She is 76 and one of the hardest working members of the family. She never complains, she just gets on with the work and always with a smile on her face.”

From the Archive: The Queen of Hearts

The royal family is currently having to scale back its engagements with three senior royal royals off work; King Charles, who is expected to be back at work soon, Kate Middleton, who is recovering from abdominal surgery following 13 days in hospital, and Prince William, who has taken a break from work to support his wife and care for their three children. 

“Throughout, Camilla has been there with a smile on her face and reassuring words for well-wishers,” added the source. “Her stoicism has always been known to her close friends, but it is also earning her a huge amount of respect and admiration at the palace and I think among the public.”

While it was always the late Queen Elizabeth's mantra to “keep calm and carry on,” the same can be said of Queen Camilla. “She is the quiet power behind the throne,” another source added. “It’s remarkable that she was once blamed for nearly bringing the monarchy down when in fact now it is she is keeping the show on the road.”