Ex-Czech president Vaclav Havel cancels meeting with Prince Charles due to illness

Ill Havel cancels meeting with Prince Charles

PRAGUE — Former Czech President Vaclav Havel has canceled a meeting with Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla due to illness, his aide said Tuesday.

Havel had a fever overnight and had to cancel all his meetings for next few days, aide Sabina Tancevova said. She said his long-term bronchitis problems were likely to blame, but test results will not be ready until Wednesday.

Havel is being treated at home by his personal doctor, she said.

The 73-year-old former dissident playwright has suffered chronic bronchitis since a third of his right lung was removed in December 1996 following the discovery of a cancerous tumor.

Havel and his wife, Dagmar, had planned to meet Charles on Tuesday at the end of the prince’s nine-day visit to Central Europe, which also included visits to Hungary and Poland.

Havel also canceled this week’s trip to Georgia, where he was to be awarded a state decoration.