King Charles has had one of his most, if not the most, challenging years of his life. In early February, it was announced that he had an unspecified form of cancer and so he left his royal duties until late April to receive treatment and recover.
At the time of writing, King Charles seems to be back on track. However, his wife, Queen Camilla, is said to regularly be fighting a battle with him to prevent him from coming back and working too hard, too fast. Soon, the king and queen will embark on their first major overseas trip with a tour to Australia and Samoa in October, providing he doesn’t suffer any significant health setbacks.
King Charles has actually been consistent with handing out – albeit minor – information regarding his health, but lately, things have been rather quiet. However, on Wednesday, Charles finally broke his silence with another heartfelt update.
On February 5, Buckingham Palace revealed the shock news that King Charles had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
“The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” the statement from Buckingham Palace read.
King Charles – cancer
“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
Charles’ decision to reveal his cancer diagnosis may have saved lives. As reported by the Associated Press, Cancer Research UK recorded a 33% increase in visits to its website as people searched for information regarding the signs and symptoms of cancer.
“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” Charles said in a statement some days after the first update on his health.
“As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
“It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world,” Charles added.
“My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
Queen Camilla was ‘against’ King Charles disclosing his cancer diagnosis, expert claims
The last few months have been naturally challenging for the king. Although we don’t know any specific details regarding his cancer diagnosis, the monarch stayed out of the spotlight for months as he receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, his wife, Queen Camilla, took on the huge responsibility of filling in for Charles while he wasn’t fit. Though the Royal Family has been a united front, behind the scenes, King Charles and Queen Camilla reportedly had quite the argument when her husband found out about his diagnosis.
Although Charles wanted to – and later decided to – share his cancer diagnosis publicly, but a new bombshell claim reveals that not everyone in his close circle believed it to be a good idea. Robert Jobson, author of the 2023 book Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed, claimed to The Independent that Queen Camilla initially opposed the decision to disclose Charles’ condition.
“Queen Camilla had initially been against disclosing his condition, but the King overruled her, as he felt it was a chance to take a lead, and in doing so to encourage men experiencing similar symptoms to seek timely medical attention,” Jobson said.
The author continued by claiming that the monarch overruled his wife, feeling that he could ‘take the lead’ in encouraging other men who experienced similar symptoms to seek medical attention before it was too late.
Reports of an ‘ongoing battle’ between Queen Camilla and King Charles
“There was a significant increase in searches related to enlarged prostate on the National Health Service website following the monarch’s revelation. The NHS England page on benign prostate enlargement had more than 26,000 visits in the 48 hours after the announcement, compared to a daily average of just 1,400,” Jobson continued.
“He was lauded for doing so, with commentators saying he had ushered in a new era of transparency in matters of health and the Royal Family,” Jobson added.
Although King Charles and Queen Camilla have made it through this very challenging time together, there have been reports of an ‘ongoing battle’ between them.
Despite being diagnosed with a form of cancer earlier this year, Charles continues to perform a packed schedule of royal engagements. A friend of Queen Camilla’s claimed that she is “deeply unhappy” with her husband’s busy schedule and instead wants him to focus on recovering.
“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.”
King Charles shares heartfelt health update
Another friend said: “She has been trying to encourage him to slow down. Of course, he wants to keep cracking on, but she is afraid that doing too much could set him back.”
To everybody’s joy, today King Charles has returned to performing his royal duties. The king and queen have often appeared together since his cancer was revealed and on Wednesday the monarch hosted an event at Buckingham Palace, meeting with New Zealand’s women’s rugby union team.
Just as for Kate Middleton’s cancer and previous abdominal surgery, official updates from the Palace have been very few. However, when King Charles hosted the event at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, he briefly mentioned his health. The monarch explained to the players that he won’t be able to travel to their country during the upcoming tour to Oceania because of the “doctor’s orders.”
“I am extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October because of doctor’s orders. But I hope there will be another excuse before too long,” Charles said, as per the Express.
“But in the meantime, give my love to New Zealand, please, and New Zealanders, we get lots of nice Kiwi coming here in this part of the world as well, so we are very lucky indeed.”
King Charles added: “And I hope you make the most of your time in the team because you don’t stay young for very long, as I discovered, it all goes quicker than you think.”
King Charles & Queen Camilla set for overseas trip
The October trip to Australia and Samoa will be King Charles’ first major overseas trip as king. Just a short while ago, Buckingham Palace revealed details about the tour, and it’s easy to say it will be a packed number of days
“Their Majesties, The King and Queen, will undertake an Autumn tour from Friday 18th to Saturday 26th October 2024,” a Palace spokesperson said. “This will include a royal visit to Australia, State Visit to the Independent State of Samoa and attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024.” The program will be structured around celebrating the host countries as well as reflecting the King and Queen’s interests and work.
“The King, who has this year been receiving treatment for cancer, will meet Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scoyler, both Australians of the Year, and will hear about the work they do to help those affected by melanoma, one of Australia’s most common cancers.”
While a major overseas tour includes a packet schedule each and every day, this time, there will be some significant differences.
“Adaptions have been made”
The monarch will face “very clear adaptations,” which will be a “big contrast” compared to when his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited Australia,” according to royal expert Cameron Walker.
“The late Queen Elizabeth visited every state of Australia, every territory including seven capital cities and 70 towns in 58 days,” Walker told GB News. “In contrast, the King is going to be spending, we understand, less than a week in Australia and he’s only going to be visiting Sydney and Canberra.”
Cameron continued: “As we knew, doctors had given the King the green light to travel. It is going to be the first long-haul travel the King has done since his cancer diagnosis. But it’s very clear from the information I’ve received this afternoon that adaptions have been made. For example, New Zealand originally was on the agenda for the King and Queen to travel to – that has now been ruled out on doctor’s advice.”
“Because he’s been mindful that he’s undergoing cancer treatments, he’s also going to be spending some time at an engagement to do with melanoma and cancer treatment,” the royal expert added.
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