King Charles to return to public duties while
continuing cancer treatment
Monarch to resume public-facing engagements after
palace says doctors ‘very encouraged’ by his progress
Caroline
Davies
Fri 26 Apr
2024 18.00 BST
King
Charles, who is being treated for cancer, is to return to public duties, with
doctors pleased and “very encouraged” by his progress and “positive” about his
continued recovery, Buckingham Palace has said.
Charles,
who announced in early February he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form
of cancer, will continue treatment while resuming some public-facing
engagements, though he will not undertake a full summer programme.
His first
engagement will be to visit a cancer treatment centre on Tuesday accompanied by
Queen Camilla, though it is not a centre directly involved in his medical care.
There he will meet medical specialists and patients as patron of Cancer
Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.
He will
also host a state visit by the emperor and empress of Japan in June.
A palace
spokesperson said Charles was “greatly encouraged to be resuming some
public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued
care and expertise”.
In a
statement, Buckingham Palace said: “His Majesty the King will shortly return to
public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his
recent cancer diagnosis.
“To help
mark this milestone, the king and queen will make a joint visit to a cancer
treatment centre next Tuesday, where they will meet medical specialists and
patients. This visit will be the first in a number of external engagements His
Majesty will undertake in the weeks ahead.
“As the
first anniversary of the coronation approaches, Their Majesties remain deeply
grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around
the world throughout the joys and challenges of the past year.”
The
spokesperson said the king’s treatment programme would continue, “but doctors
are sufficiently pleased with the progress so far that the king is now able to
resume a number of public-facing duties”.
Engagements
will be adapted to minimise any risks to his continued recovery. The
spokesperson added it was too early to say how much longer Charles’s treatment
would continue, but his medical team “are very encouraged by the progress made
so far and remain positive about the king’s continued recovery”.
“Any
public-facing engagements will be announced nearer the time in the usual way,
and will remain subject to doctors’ advice, but it will not be a full summer
programme. His Majesty will of course continue with all official state business
and selected audiences, as he has done throughout his period of treatment.”
Though
Charles will now be able to meet people indoor and outdoors, each engagement
will be carefully reviewed and managed to reduce any risk to his continued
recovery.
His
engagements will also be paced to prevent him overdoing it while continuing
treatment. The “pacing” will be “carefully calibrated as his recovery
continues, in close consultation with his medical team”, the spokesperson said.
The king’s
summer programme would, under normal circumstances, include the Birthday
Parade, D-Day commemorations, the annual Buckingham Palace garden parties,
Royal Ascot and an autumn tour overseas.
“Planning
continues for ways in which Their Majesties may attend such summer and autumn
engagements, though nothing can be confirmed or guaranteed at this stage,” the
spokesperson said,
Charles’s
cancer was diagnosed after treatment for a benign enlarged prostate, though it
is not prostate cancer. Buckingham Palace has said it has no plans to share
further details of his specific condition or treatment plan at this stage.
The
Princess of Wales revealed on 22 March that she had also been diagnosed with an
unspecified cancer, and is undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
The king
has been dividing his time between his Sandringham estate in Norfolk and
London, where he is receiving qutreatment.
A new
picture of the king and queen has been released to mark the anniversary of
their coronation on 6 May. It was taken in the Buckingham Palace garden on 10
April, the day after the couple’s 19th wedding anniversary.
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