Major Surgery for Camilla on Return From Gulf Visit

THE Duchess of Cornwall is to have a hysterectomy next month.Camilla, 59, is due to undergo surgery in about two to three weeks’ time following her ten-day official royal trip to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates with the Prince of Wa les.She will have to spend several days in hospital and rest for six weeks, with planned engagements postponed.Clarence House described the operation – the removal of the womb – as routine and said it was not cancer-related, but refused to discuss Camilla’s condition further.A hysterectomy can be performed for several medical conditions including fibroids (“lumps” in the uterus), cancer, and endometriosis, when small pieces of the womb lining stick to other parts of the body, such as the bladder.Other reasons can include painful pelvic inflammatory disease, caused by infection or prolapse, where the uterus or part of vaginal wall drops down as a result of weak tissue.The Duchess will continue with her official engagements ahead of her hospital stay, which include visiting a Jewish museum in north London with Prince Charles today.Yesterday, she met patients suffering from osteoporosis when she opened a medical centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire.The National Osteoporosis Society, of which Camilla is president, sent a message of support.An spokeswoman said: “After ten years of working with her, we really wish her well for her operation and look forward to working with her after she has recovered.”A Clarence House spokeswoman said: “(The operation) is scheduled to enable the Duchess to accompany the Prince of Wales on an important foreign tour to a number of Gulf states.”Following the operation, Her Royal Highness will remain in hospital for several days, followed by a period of recuperation for six weeks.”She said the Duchess regretted not being able to carry out planned engagements during her recovery.Camilla recently pulled out of two official engagements in the space of a month because of ill health.She postponed a visit to Aberdeen on January 5 and cancelled an appearance at a Christmas pudding factory on December 8 because of a bout of gastro-enteritis.Aides said the Duchess was suffering from a gastric bug on both occasions and insisted yesterday that her illnesses were not related to her present condition.Yesterday, the Duchess looked happy and relaxed as she carried out her royal duties on her solo visit.At the medical centre in Chippenham, she chatted with patients, bending down to tickle the feet of a four-month-old baby, Isabel Mathewson, who was being held by her mother, Helen.She also discussed how osteoporosis had affected her own family when she met sisters Jean Hastings, 90, and Ruby Wright, 87, both from Chippenham.Conservative MP James Gray, who met Camilla at yesterday’s ceremony, said: “There she was in a doctor’s surgery and she was exuding an atmosphere of cheerfulness and jollity. “She was absolutely normal and friendly.”

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