There has been a lot of news recently about the royal family. It isn’t all about the problems that exist between King Charles and his sons, it is also the health issues that have plagued the family as well.
Although King Charles III has only been king since the loss of his mother in September 2022, it has not been an easy time for him. He was diagnosed in 2024 with cancer but he continued to work on his royal duties while undergoing treatment.
Some of the different things that King Charles has done despite going through cancer treatments is to visit Italy and the Holy See, which will take place in April 2025. Some experts feel that there are a number of challenges yet ahead for the King.
Charles shared the diagnosis of cancer publicly in February 2024. He wrote: “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 organizations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world. My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
As of yet, the specific type of cancer that Charles has is not publicly known. According to some people in the know, however, his cancer treatment is ‘moving in a positive direction.’
One insider, the CEO of the cancer support charity Maggie’s, Laura Lee, said: “It’s very common for treatment to be ongoing for very long periods of time, as is the treatment that the Princess of Wales went through, which is an intense period of treatment over a year, and then it comes to a point where it’s on an end, and she’s on that recovery from some of the impacts of her treatment…”
Charles will be traveling to Italy in April 2025. This will be his first trip overseas as monarch and he is scheduled to meet the Pope.
According to a former palace butler, Grant Harold: “I think also he’s getting on a little bit, obviously he’s a little bit older. I mean when his mother became Queen and she was undertaking state visits, obviously she was a lot younger. I think because of obviously his age and his recent health and everything, they’ve probably just kind of been sensible about how they plan these kind of things…
“I just think they’re probably just planning it carefully and trying to make the most of his time while he’s overseas… I’m not too sure exactly how long he’s there for. But again, these kinds of things, when they get planned, they make the most of it.”
He also said that Charles was doing well and feeling positive, despite the difficulties he was facing.
Not every insider has the same outlook. Royal expert Daniela Elser said that she thought the King ‘might have been all smiles at church in late January, but Buckingham Palace is today facing down a previously unheard of, never-considered royal scenario – how to keep Crown Inc going in the time of an aging, cancer-battling monarch who is increasingly rattling around the Palace, stranded and with fewer than ever people to call on.
“As he ages and as he battles cancer, he has only very few working members of the royal family left he can rely on and delegate to in order to help him shoulder the load.”
I guess we’ll just have to see where it goes from here.
