Queen Camilla Has Shared An Update On King Charles III's Health

On February 5 2024, a statement released by Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer.

According to the statement, the King was undergoing ‘regular treatments’. The exact type of cancer has not been revealed, but the BBC reported that while it is not prostate cancer, it was found during a treatment for an enlarged prostate.

The King ‘looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,’ the Palace added.

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As a result of the treatment, His Majesty has postponed his public engagements for the past seven months, and senior royals such as Queen Camilla and Prince William have stood in for him instead.

The septuagenarian was last seen out in public on Easter Sunday, alongside Camilla and several other members of the royal family for an Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.

The news of his diagnosis broke out a week after the Palace shared that the King was undergoing prostate treatment (in late January) at the London Clinic. He wanted to go public with the news in order to raise awareness about the issue.

During the course of his treatment, the King has remained head of state. When the head of state is unable to carry out official duties, ‘Counsellors of State’ may be appointed to stand in for the monarch.

'In the event that The King cannot undertake his official duties as Sovereign on a temporary basis due to illness or absence abroad, two or more Counsellors of State are appointed by Letters Patent to act in His Majesty's place,' reads the Palace website.

'The current Counsellors of State are The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, The Duke of York and Princess Beatrice.'

Prince William, King Charles’ eldest son, temporarily withdrew from public outings while helping his wife, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, following her abdominal surgery on January 17.

The BBC reported that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and King Charles’ youngest child, visited the King following the announcement of his diagnosis and spent 45 minutes with his father at Clarence House.

Following the announcement, several politicians have come out to wish the King a speedy recovery, including Northern Ireland’s first minister Michelle O’Neill and Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales.

In early May, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, revealed that she been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer.

The 64-year-old, who was previously married to Prince Andrew and is the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, received breast cancer treatment last year. In January, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma and had several moles removed.

'She is undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages,' reported Sky News, quoting a spokesman of Ferguson's.

It's been seven months since King Charles III first opened up about his diagnosis of an undisclosed form of cancer.

On September 3, Queen Camilla made a visit to the brand-new Dyson Cancer Center, situated in the Royal United Hospital in Bath, which supplies care to upwards of 500,000 people based in South West England.

While she was there, she gave an update regarding the King's health condition and cancer treatment. As reported by the Mirror, she stated: 'He is doing very well.'

Given that individual members of the royal family rarely comment on the King's health, it is thought that Queen Camilla's update is reassuring of the King's progression back towards full health.

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