(London) King Charles III is suffering from cancer discovered during a recent prostate operation, bad news which adds to a dark series for the health of the British royal family.
WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW
- King Charles III is suffering from cancer, the nature of which has not been specified;
- He underwent prostate surgery around ten days ago, where a “separate problem” was diagnosed;
- The sovereign will continue his functions, but postpone his public appearances.
Less than a year and a half after succeeding his mother Elizabeth II to the British throne and nine months after being crowned, the 75-year-old sovereign has started treatment but does not plan to completely cease his activities as head of state from the United Kingdom but also from 14 other countries, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday.
“During the recent operation for benign prostatic hypertrophy, a distinct problem was noted” and “subsequent tests identified a form of cancer,” explains the palace in a press release, specifying that the sovereign “ will continue to take care of the affairs of state.
The king thus “began today a program of regular treatments, during which doctors advised him to postpone his public activities”. However, he will continue “to take care of state affairs and administrative tasks as usual”, he further specifies.
“Very optimistic”
According to Buckingham Palace, the king “remains very optimistic about his treatment and looks forward to returning to his public duties as soon as possible”, at a time when Princess Kate, wife of the heir to the throne William, is she is also recovering after an operation.
PHOTO TOBY MELVILLE, REUTERS
King Charles leaving the London Clinic with his wife Camilla on January 29
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately wished “a speedy recovery” to the king of X: “I have no doubt that he will quickly regain all his strength and I know that the entire country sends him its best wishes.”
The leader of the Labor opposition Keir Starmer and the Scottish independence Prime Minister are also among the politicians who have sent their wishes for recovery.
US President Joe Biden said he was “worried” about King Charles III, indicating in a brief exchange with the press that he had only just learned of the British sovereign’s cancer diagnosis .
Former President Donald Trump, favorite for the Republican nomination, declared on his social network Truth Social that the king was “a wonderful man”, and indicated: “We pray for a speedy and complete recovery”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, affirmed on X that “like Canadians across the country and citizens around the world, I think of His Majesty King Charles III.” “We send him our best wishes and hope for a speedy and full recovery,” he added.
Like his operation for a benign prostate problem, about which he had been transparent, Charles III “chose to share his diagnosis in order to avoid speculation, and in the hope of helping the public to understand all those affected by cancer around the world,” it says.
The announcement of her prostate problem had already contrasted with the secrecy surrounding the health of Queen Elizabeth II in the years preceding her death on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96, after a record reign 70 years old.
It comes at a time when the wife of his heir William, Kate, 42, was hospitalized on January 16 for an abdominal operation, the cause of which remained secret. She hasn’t been seen in public since appearing with the rest of the family for Christmas.
PHOTO DAVID CLIFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Princess Kate
Kensington Palace announced a week ago that she had been discharged from the private London clinic where she underwent the procedure and was continuing her convalescence at the family home in Windsor, west London.
The reasons for his operation remain mysterious, but it is not cancer, according to British media.
The palace announced that it would suspend its activities probably until Easter, March 31.
Harry soon in the UK
William, eldest son of King Charles III, had also stopped his public duties in order to prioritize their family. But his services announced Monday that he would attend a decorations ceremony in Windsor on Wednesday and then a charity gala in London.
The couple, very popular in the United Kingdom, have three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
Exiled in California, Charles’s youngest son, Harry, will return to the United Kingdom to see his father despite the well-known tensions between the Duke of Sussex and his father as well as his older brother.
PHOTO BEN STANSALL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Prince Harry attended his father’s coronation in May 2023.
The forced withdrawal of Charles, Kate and William placed Queen Camilla, 76, at the forefront, with numerous trips every week for the one who remains little loved by the British, who adored Princess Diana, the sovereign’s first wife .
At the end of January, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, who had already recently undergone breast cancer surgery, announced that she was suffering from “malignant melanoma”, a skin cancer.
If the Duchess of York is no longer an active member of the family, “Fergie” continues to share a manor near Windsor Castle with King Charles’s brother.