The royal family has been through a lot of difficulties in recent months. Cancer has been a problem for both King Charles and Princess Kate, and sometimes the news is slow in coming.
For King Charles, it started in early February when an announcement came out that he had a type of cancer that was unspecified. He was leaving his royal duties and would not return until late April after he received treatment.
It seemed as if he was on the right track but Queen Camilla worked very hard to prevent him from coming back too fast. It won’t be long, however, before they are on an overseas trip to tour Australia and Samoa.
The news of his cancer came out on February 5 when the Buckingham Palace released a memo. It said: “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.
“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.”
A number of days after the first message appeared, King Charles expressed his heartfelt thanks for the messages of support and good wishes.
He said: “I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days.
“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.”
Recently, King Charles has come back to performing his royal duties. The king and queen have appeared together after his cancer was revealed but the king hosted an event at Buckingham Palace. He met with New Zealand’s women’s rugby union team.
Since February, there have been very few updates about his cancer diagnosis. When he hosted the event at Buckingham Palace, however, he did mention his health briefly. He explained that he would travel to the country during an upcoming tour because his doctor said he couldn’t.
“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.
“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.”
He also 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.”
The trip overseas to Samoa and Australia will be his first trip as King. Buckingham palace revealed some details about the tour.
“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 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.”
There will also be some ‘clear adaptations’ with his trip as well compared to when Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia.
According to a royal expert: “The late Queen Elizabeth visited every state of Australia, every territory including seven capital cities and 70 towns in 58 days, 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.
“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.”