Camilla was brought to tears at the conclusion of her and her husband’s 11-day royal tour of Australia and Samoa, with some sources suggesting a rather heartbreaking reason behind her emotion.

It’s not only tradition that expects senior Royal Family members to keep their emotions under control in public; it’s essentially part of their protocol. As part of the elder generation of royals, Camilla is typically as composed as figures like King Charles, Princess Anne, and the late Queen Elizabeth.

However, the 77-year-old couldn’t hold back her tears during a farewell ceremony in the village of Siumu, Samoa, as Charles – who has been facing a battle with cancer throughout this year – gave a touching speech after being honored with a title meaning “paramount chief.”

RadarOnline reports that the reason for Camilla’s rare display of raw emotion is that the Queen Consort is beginning to face the reality that her husband’s time as king may be limited.

To clarify, there has been no official confirmation that Charles’s cancer condition has worsened, nor any indication that the 76-year-old – who waited longer to take the throne than any previous heir-apparent in British history – is starting to face serious health difficulties.

That being said, the critical facts remain that Charles has been dealing with an undisclosed type of cancer since February, and there has been minimal information about the success or failure of his treatments.

Why was Camilla crying?

Speculation has naturally filled the gaps where concrete information is lacking, and some suggest that Camilla’s tears at the end of her and Charles’ latest trip might carry significant meaning.

“I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you,” Charles stated during his speech in Samoa. “We shall take away with us, I promise you, very special memories of our time here.”

Camilla’s tears, streaming down her cheeks, were evident to observers, though the Queen Consort did her best to conceal them behind a fan.

According to RadarOnline, a royal insider mentioned: “Deep in her heart she must fear Charles is dying and she’ll be left to face the remainder of her life alone.

“How Camilla will endure royal life without Charles is anyone’s guess. All this must have been going through her mind during his speech. You could see it in her tears.”

King Charles treatment

Charles reportedly paused his cancer treatment while he and Camilla were traveling on their tour of Australia and Samoa, with some sources suggesting he showed signs of chemotherapy side effects, such as swollen and inflamed lips.

Earlier this year, there were accounts of tension between Charles and Camilla regarding how much work he continued to take on. Following an initial period when the King withdrew from public events to concentrate on his treatment, he resumed a relatively regular schedule.

This was apparently enough to make Camilla “deeply unhappy,” according to a friend of the Queen Consort, who emphasized that Camilla wants her husband to focus all his energy on his recovery.

“Camilla would have been deeply unhappy that having only begun his holiday on Monday, he broke it off on Tuesday to do an incredibly intense engagement,” the friend told the Daily Beast.

“Of course, she understands it was very important, and there is no way she would try to tell Charles what to do, but it seems to be extraordinary timing. She wants him to slow down, she is afraid he is working too hard, and that’s before you even get to the Australia tour.”

What do you think of Camilla’s concern? Let us know in the comments box.