Does anyone really feign illness to get out of something?

I couldn't fake an illness if I tried. My family would know straight away. Every time I'm ill, I sleep on and off most of the day. I'm ill with an infection atm and have just woken up again. 3rd sleep of the day plus all night sleeping.
One of my adult children gets a severe headache before an illness every time. Had it for 3 days when he was younger before the chicken pox spots came out. I was so worried thinking the headache was something really serious.

My dad as a retired from Doctor became very bored and found a job assessing people for suitability for Disability Allowances ( as it was in those days) He told me henhad been to a ertain gentleman's house who said his mobility was poor plus other frailties
requiring extra allowances. After my dad left his house and later went down to wait for the Tube, he saw the aforesaid man running down the platform...enough said!

My sister and mother are masters of the feigned illness if they don't want to do something. It drives me mad but I don't use that as an excuse. 🤣

I think skiving from work or making last minute excuses to not to attend a prearranged gathering by using an feigned illness to cover up a can’t be bothered vibe is disrespectful of other people’s time and feelings.
It’s dishonest too.

Also not proof reading before posting is just lazy, sorry about that.

I worked as a nurse in the NHS in various places for many years. Management tended to be unsympathetic to urgent changes in the roster due to a child being ill etc or an unforseen family event. Sometimes staff were told they could have the time if they could find someone else to swap shifts which was not always possible due to staff shortages. This resulted in staff having sickies to allow us to discharge our family duties. NHS trusts have brought in procedures to monitor individual levels of sickness to crack down on this. For my part, after a couple of heartless managers declined me time off to attend to family illness, I realised it was better to use the sickie rather than to risk refusal and spend the rest of my life regretting being unable to look after my family adequately. When I was a nurse, I was a good employee. I stayed on (often at no notice) when I could when other staff couldn't show up for their shifts. I worked countless unpaid hours because of short staffing and feeling unable to leave the ward until the patients were comfortable. I know that other staff did the same as me. I don't regret the sickie and I don't regret the unpaid hours either.

I did once throw a sickie at work when I was in my thirties as it was a red hot day and I wanted to sunbathe, plus it was a Friday. Stupid thing to do, I know, and I never did it again.

On a slight tangent, a few years ago we had a cat who had diabetes and we would use him as the excuse to leave an event early, as we had to get back to give him his injection. Not a lie as such, and he was a lovely cat.

Rabbitgran

I worked as a nurse in the NHS in various places for many years. Management tended to be unsympathetic to urgent changes in the roster due to a child being ill etc or an unforseen family event. Sometimes staff were told they could have the time if they could find someone else to swap shifts which was not always possible due to staff shortages. This resulted in staff having sickies to allow us to discharge our family duties. NHS trusts have brought in procedures to monitor individual levels of sickness to crack down on this. For my part, after a couple of heartless managers declined me time off to attend to family illness, I realised it was better to use the sickie rather than to risk refusal and spend the rest of my life regretting being unable to look after my family adequately. When I was a nurse, I was a good employee. I stayed on (often at no notice) when I could when other staff couldn't show up for their shifts. I worked countless unpaid hours because of short staffing and feeling unable to leave the ward until the patients were comfortable. I know that other staff did the same as me. I don't regret the sickie and I don't regret the unpaid hours either.

In the case of hospital nurses the NHS should have an adequate nurse pool that can be used in emergencies such as nurses going off sick or needing to honour serious family commitments.

Any industry such as the NHS which is to care for helpless people should have 24/7 failsafe staffing levels at all times.

Yes, I have done this a few times. It started with school! But it was really social anxiety and still is.

I think HM is tired and weak, but determined to keep going. He is doing less and letting HRH do more, but is well aware how hard it is to be a monarch and have a family life, and of the toll of cancer on Katherine.
However much we love the late Queen, she did put duty before her children, being away for long periods, so he possibly does not want that burden on his own grandchildren.

Regrettably I've been in an opposite situation. I often used to get genuinely unwell when having to visit the in-laws, if I was already not feeling too well the stress, the car journey, I've always had a tendency to car sickness, and not being able to sleep when I needed to sometimes used to send me over the edge into a fully blown migraine. Thankfully since I no longer have to do this I don't think I've had a migraine since. If I'd been able to have an early night and wake up refreshed I would probably have been ok or at least no migraine.
I've never had a non genuine sickie at work, in fact the last over 20 years of working because it was flexible and part time, I'd I wasn't well I'd just do what I needed to when I felt better
My old doc was a Highland Scots and he said that sometimes he would have a day off school to go fishing if he needed what we now call a mental health day. And actually I agree with him. Presenteeism is not good for the employer or the employee. If for whatever reason someone is stressed a day off could help reset things and get the work done when it's needed and the employee will feel better for it and be better able to do their job.
I think that going in when you're not really well enough is far too common and good for nobody
Maybe the King could say he can't get travel insurance, we all know what it's like with preexisting conditions and age, especially travelling to the US. If he became ill out there how much would that cost the British taxpayer?

Personally I've done it more than once, mostly when I know I'm going to get grief if I don't attend whatever boring event it is. My health is poor anyway so I'm not exactly feigning anything, just making it seem worse than it is for that particular thing. I don't see it as tempting anything because that's not something I believe in.

But for someone like a bloody king? That would be a bit much, imo it would be much better to tell the truth... The UK no longer has any kind of special relationship with the US so a state visit is unnecessary.
But he won't say that and will go regardless.