Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Queen Camilla will open a new cancer centre in Bath today as she returns to royal duties following the summer break.
It’s a particularly poignant first visit back, as her husband the King and her daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales continue to undergo cancer treatment.
Camilla, 77, will officially open the new Dyson Cancer Centre at Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath NHS Foundation Trust.
She will tour the new centre, which opened to patients in April, and meet some of the Cancer Centre’s supporters.
Over £10 million was raised by some 11,000 supporters, with the Government supplying an additional £40million in funds.
The RUH provides cancer services to over 500,000 people in the South West and is one of the largest cancer centres in the region.
The Dyson Cancer Centre brings together the majority of the RUH’s cancer services, including research, under one roof.
It provides oncology, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy services, as well as a 22-bed inpatient ward and a wellbeing hub.
The Queen is expected to meet with patients and hear about the support they received at the centre, as well as chatting to staff.
She will then head to Wiltshire to open the new headquarters of Stonegate Farmers, a new state-of-the-art facility where free-range and organic eggs are packed.
Her visits today mark a return to royal duties following the Royal Family’s annual summer break in Balmoral.
Camilla has conducted a handful of engagements over the summer, as she’s taken a well-earned rest after upping her schedule this year while her husband took time off following his cancer diagnosis.
Camilla’s last royal duty was on August 24, when she visited York Racecourse and formally opened the Bustardthorpe Development.
Prior to that, she attended King George Day at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire on July 27 and attended the State Opening of Parliament on July 17 – which coincided with her 77th birthday.