Queen Camilla seen for the first time after missing Remembrance Sunday service due to chest infection

By Emma Soteriou

Queen Camilla has been seen for the first time after missing the Remembrance Sunday service due to a chest infection.

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Camilla joined shortlisted authors for the Booker Prize reception at Clarence House on Tuesday afternoon.

The event marked her first public engagement since she contracted the seasonal bug.

It came after her long-haul tour to Australia and Samoa two-and-a-half weeks ago.

She attended for a shorter period than planned, joining guests only for a discussion and a group photograph.

Over the weekend, Camilla was forced to miss the annual Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall due to her illness.

Read more: Palace gives update on Camilla's return to work after Queen falls ill

Read more: The Queen to return to public duties after chest infection but will miss major film premiere

As an avid reader, she is 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.