Britain's Queen Camilla said her husband King Charles who is being treated for cancer was doing "very well", as she greeted crowds on a visit to Northern Ireland on Thursday.
Charles has been absent from public duties since January while he undergoes treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, leaving Camilla and heir-to-the-throne Prince William to be the public face of the royal family.
Camilla, 76, joked with members of the public in Belfast, telling workers in a bakery that a smartly dressed small boy there was "a natural for the cameras" as he stole the limelight.
Handed a card by a schoolgirl outside a shop to wish her husband well, Camilla said: "Thank you. He'll be delighted."
Camilla and William have been out and about this week, meeting people and carrying out charity, holding the fort for the royal family while another of its star players, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, also recuperates from a health problem.
Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter on March 31, following abdominal surgery for a non-cancerous condition in January.
Interest in her health has kept Kate in the headlines. Britain's data watchdog said on Wednesday it was looking into a report that staff at the London hospital where she was treated had attempted to access her private health records.
Camilla, who loves books and has set up a reading charity, is due to attend an event later on Thursday celebrating Northern Ireland's literary history, at Hillsborough Castle, hosted by poet Paul Muldoon.
Last month Camilla said Charles was "doing extremely well under the circumstances."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Demand On Safety Met, Doctors' Body Calls Off Strike Over Kolkata Rape-Murder
First-Ever King Charles III Banknotes Fetch Rs 9 Crore At Auction, Over 11 Times Their Value King Charles III Ends Silence On UK Far-Right Riots, Praises Police Efforts Queen Camilla Keeps Prince William In Check If He's Disrespectful, Reveals New Book Tear Gas Fired After Kolkata Protest Against Doctor's Rape-Murder Turns Violent 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing PM Modi's Speech At Independence Day 2024 Is Longest Ever By An Indian PM Olympic Team, Border Roads Staff, 'Lakhpati Didis' Attend Independence Day Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.