England’s King Charles III was seen in public on Tuesday for the first time since it was revealed he was suffering from a form of cancer as his estranged youngest son, Prince Harry, flew to London to visit him. Buckingham Palace announced Monday that Charles, 75, who has been on the throne for less than 18 months since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, has been diagnosed with the disease and will postpone his public appearances to undergo treatment to undergo.
The monarch smiled and waved to passers-by as he was driven the short distance from his home at Clarence House in central London to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday afternoon. ANDThe palace said the king remained “completely positive”and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously said the cancer was detected early.
Harry, who has fallen out with his father and the rest of the royal family since stepping down from royal duties nearly four years ago, arrived in Britain to visit his father as world leaders delivered messages of support for the monarch. However, A royal source said there were no plans for Harry to see his older brother. the heir to the throne Prince William during his visit to Great Britain.
William is expected to take on some of the monarch’s duties alongside other senior royals while Charles begins a series of outpatient treatments.
“All of our thoughts are with him and his family. “Fortunately, this was recognized in time,” Sunak said on BBC radio, saying he was “shocked and saddened” by the news.
Despite the diagnosis, Charles plans to continue much of his private work as monarch, including his weekly audience with the prime minister and processing government documents. Sunak said he was in regular contact with the king.
The royal Charles III. appeared in his car after his death from cancer pic.twitter.com/wbX3W5nzU5
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 6, 2024
“Of course it will continue as usual and we will move everything forward,” he said.
The cancer was discovered when Carlos spent three nights in hospital last month. where he underwent corrective surgery for a benign prostate enlargement. Apart from confirming that it was not prostate cancer, the palace did not provide any further information. The royal family typically keeps medical matters secret, but the palace said Charles chose to go public because he is a supporter of several cancer-related charities.
While the king receives expert attention, His diagnosis will draw attention to increasing cancer waiting times in the UK to the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which is widely believed to be in crisis. According to a report by the NHS Confederation published in January, cancer survival rates in the UK are lower than in other European countries for nine out of 10 most common types of disease.
The surprise diagnosis that has dominated the British media since it was announced It is another personal blow to Charles during his year and a half on the throne.
At the beginning of last year Harry published his autobiography, Spare, which contained damning revelations about his father and older brother. while Charles also had to deal with ongoing allegations against his brother, Prince Andrew, in connection with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harry, who stepped down from royal duties in 2020, returned to Britain from California, where he lives with his American wife Meghan and their two children, to visit his father after Charles informed him and his other immediate family of his diagnosis .
The revelation about the king’s cancer comes as Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales and wife of heir to the throne William, recovers at home after spending two weeks in hospital following planned abdominal surgery for an unspecified but non-cancerous condition.
A return to public office is not expected before Easter. and the absence of senior figures will put pressure on other working royals to take on additional commitments.
Carlos always wanted to have a smaller monarchy, but with his younger brother Andrew and Harry no longer involved, everyone currently attending royal duties except William and Kate are over 50, and some are now in their 80s. His sister, Princess Anne, is often at the top of the list of busiest royals, followed by Charles.
“After the turmoil caused by the death of the late Queen and the controversies surrounding the Dukes of Sussex and York (Harry and Andrew), we hoped for a period of calm and consolidation after the coronation,” he said in a Telegraph editorial. “But disease cannot be predicted or avoided, even for a man who has taken such good care of himself. We join the rest of the nation in wishing His Majesty a speedy recovery.”
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