Queen Camilla went to Isle of Man on Wednesday, and then she flew to Belfast and had events throughout Thursday. Did you know that the Windsors are still extremely careful about how they visit Northern Ireland? They rarely announce their visits in advance and they rarely spend the night, although Camilla reportedly did spend Wednesday night in Belfast ahead of her day of engagements. I was sort of surprised to see that some of Camilla’s engagements were so informal too – some of them were just popping into smaller bakeries and delis in Belfast and checking out the local delicacies. She apparently left Belfast with several grocery bags full of food. Which is sort of nice. She also chatted about how King Charles is doing:

Queen Camilla offered a new comment on how King Charles is doing while receiving cancer treatment during her solo trip to Northern Ireland. On Thursday, the Queen, 76, stepped out in Belfast to check out some of the city’s artisan and family-run food shops, where she briefly spoke about her husband’s health at the Arcadia Delicatessen.

“He’s doing very well. He was very disappointed he couldn’t come,” Queen Camilla said after shop assistant Brenda Robb gave her a get-well card for the King, 75, and shared well-wishes, Hello! magazine reported. According to the outlet, the royal had something playful to say when someone cracked a joke about men “not being the best patients.”

“I try to keep him in order,” Queen Camilla replied about her husband of 18 years.

The Queen spoke about King Charles again during a stop at the family-run Coffey’s Butcher, which has been in business since 1929, when she accepted a gift of the store’s specialties including vegetable rolls, beef sausages and Belfast pickle.

“I shall take these back to my husband. He will really make the most of them,” Queen Camilla said of the treats, Hello! Reported.

The Queen also popped into Knotts Bakery, where she made no promises that the fruit loaf and iced madeira they gave her would make it home for the King to sample. “She said she’d eat some of them on the way home,” family bakery co-owner William Corrie the outlet.

[From People]

Honestly, this is a good way to keep people updated on Charles’s health – not everything needs a press release or formal palace statement. It can just be Camilla, answering questions informally during her events. It begs the question: why couldn’t Prince William do the same for Kate? Also, it helps that Charles has been doing events too and that he’s been photographed clearly and repeatedly since his cancer diagnosis. While Cam was in Belfast, Charles was greeting some diplomats at Buckingham Palace too.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.