 Camilla's mother and grandmother both died of osteoporosis |
The Duchess of Cornwall is to carry out her first solo engagement as a member of the Royal Family later this month. Camilla will visit Southampton General Hospital on 23 May, where she will tour the osteoporosis unit. Her mother and grandmother died of the bone disease.
The visit was postponed from April because it was considered inappropriate in the run-up to a general election.
It will be the Duchess' first official appearance without the Prince of Wales since their wedding a month ago.
Will to live
Camilla became president of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) after seeing how her mother, Rosalind Shand, suffered with the condition before her death in 1994.
"The quality of her life became so dismal and her suffering so unbearable that she just gave up the fight and lost the will to live," the Duchess told an international summit on osteoporosis three years ago.
One in three women and one in 12 men in the UK develop osteoporosis - or thinning of the bones - during their lifetime.
Camilla has tried to help raise awareness of the condition with visits to many bone units across the UK over the past few years.
During her trip to Southampton, the Duchess will also open the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Centre at the hospital, Clarence House said.
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