Camilla axes trips to Commonwealth Games in Australia over her ‘fear of flying’
THE Duchess of Cornwall will cut short a trip Down Under for the Commonwealth Games because of her fear of flying.
She will fly into Brisbane with Prince Charles but will leave three days later.
It will mean Charles going it alone as he greets fans and visits projects in Vanuatu, Cairns, Gove and Darwin on a week-long trip.
He is acting as the Queen’s official representative as she no longer carries out overseas visits.
Camilla will see April 4’s opening ceremony at Carrara Stadium and visit the athletes’ village, but will miss four days of jobs that would have involved several flights.
It is well known she has a fear of flying and aides hinted her phobia may have been a factor.
When asked if it may be seen as a snub, a Clarence House spokesman said: “No, it’s quite a gruelling tour.
“The Duchess does not like flying but I think she has to sometimes embrace that fear.
“The Duchess has always wanted to do the Commonwealth Games and I think she was taking a little longer to decide what the rest of her programme was going to be and what the rest of the programme this year would be.
“She’s going to go after the Commonwealth Games because that will be the natural point really to go back home.”