By Ian Ransom
GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) – Commonwealth Games organizers have defended Camilla for looking jaded during Wednesday’s opening ceremony at the Gold Coast, saying the Duchess of Cornwall was “shattered” from her travel schedule rather than disinterested in the show.
The ceremony at Carrara Stadium garnered mostly positive reviews in local media but many reports focused on the British royal family member’s wavering attention.
Pictures of Camilla thumbing through a program in the VIP box between her husband Prince Charles and Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were widely circulated on social media, prompting some users to criticize the 70-year-old for failing to show more appreciation.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Louise Martin said the Duchess was exhausted, rather than bored.
“She was jet-lagged, she’d just got off the plane in the morning,” Martin said at a media briefing on Thursday.
“She did full duty right through and the only time she got a break was when she sat in the car from Brisbane down to here.
“Then she got 20 minutes to change before she went to another reception. When you’re back to back like that, coming off a long-haul flight… and she literally hates flying. She really wanted to go to sleep.”
(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
