Will King Charles’s Health Get Better?

It is no longer news that the British ruler has been suffering from an illness for a while now. Though several treatment setups have been put in place, it is with utmost hope that there will be a trace of recovery and, in the long run, total. But, has there been any yet? Do well to dig in.

Following his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, King Charles commenced treatment. In the months since falling ill, King stepped back from public engagements.

Though this has given the King the time to fulfill his constitutional duties as head of state, including paperwork and private meetings. It goes the same for weekly audiences with the prime minister, although he did not hold them all in person.

The King and the Queen appeared before large crowds on Easter Sunday in Windsor, having first attended a church service—their first major public appearance since the King’s diagnosis.

What is the Cancer Diagnosis So far?

Currently, Prince Edward, Princess Royal, Prince William, and Queen Camilla are included in that. As non-working royals, Prince Harry and the Duke of York are no longer needed.

In addition, Prince William withdrew from public events for a while to assist his wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in her recuperation following an abdominal surgery that she underwent last month.

Much later, it was previously said on Monday that he would resume his public duties at a later time this week. He was seen on Sunday, going to a Sunday service at Sandringham. The King, for about ten minutes, strolled and waved at the awaiting crowd.

He had a prostate operation more than a week ago in one of the luxurious hospitals in London, and the Palace said at the time the procedure was for a “benign” ailment. “It was during this intervention that an independent matter of concern was observed and subsequently diagnosed as some sort of tumor,” it said in a statement on Monday.

It is not until now, according to them, that the Palace decided to make the King’s cancer treatment public because during his time as Prince of Wales, he supported a number of charitable bodies advocating cancer research.

Is King Charles Recovering?

King Charles has made a brilliant recovery in the mere six months since it was announced that he had cancer. In February, he postponed most of his royal duties and engagements, including his solo two-day visit to Belfast and the Royal Maundy Service at Worcester Cathedral.

Meanwhile, Camilla undertook many of the King’s major engagements, but then, it is not known what form of cancer this takes; but, it was detected during his latest treatment for an enlarged prostate and still, is not prostate cancer. The Palace said the King began “regular treatments” on Monday and would cancel public engagements during the course of the treatment.

The 75-year-old head of state “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” the statement added. The stage and prognosis of the cancer are not being released further.

Has there Been Improvement Yet?

The Prince of Wales is said to have kept his father in constant touch, while Charles himself broke the news to both sons. The US-based Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, expressed his well wishes over his diagnosis to his father and will join the UK in the coming days.

The King returned to London on Monday morning from Sandringham in Norfolk, and outpatient therapy has commenced, the palace said. Even as he will be suspending his public appearances, the King will continue to carry out his constitutional duties as head of state, including paperwork and private meetings.

It was expected he would continue to hold in-person weekly audiences with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, where possible, unless his doctors advise him to reduce such interaction. Under a constitutional system, “counselors of state” may be appointed to act in the monarch’s place when the head of state is unable to perform official duties.

Does King Charles still have Public Duties?

At the end of April 2024, the King returned to his official responsibilities. He and Queen Camilla made their first public visit to a cancer treatment facility. In addition, he paid an unexpected visit to a Hampshire army barracks and cracked jokes about being “allowed out of my cage”.

Following her own cancer diagnosis, he has since attended the Trooping of the Colour ceremony, where Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her eagerly awaited first public appearance.

The Japanese emperor and empress paid the King and Queen a three-day state visit at the end of June. A few days later, the King formally elevated the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Scotland’s highest order of chivalry during the Thistle service, which was attended by a number of Royal Family members.

The Welsh Parliament celebrated its 25th anniversary with a visit by the King and Queen to Cardiff. Charles, the erstwhile Prince of Wales, spoke before the Senedd in Welsh. 

The first visit to the Channel Islands by a British monarch since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 2005 visit to Jersey, Charles and Camilla also made stops in Guernsey and Jersey. Following the general election, Sir Keir Starmer was invited by the King.

A Final Note

He was joined by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in hoping the King would have a “full and speedy recovery.”

In a direct message to the King, US President Joe Biden said: “navigating a cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship takes hope and absolute courage,” he later said on X. We join the people of the United Kingdom in wishing His Majesty a speedy and full recovery.”

In 2018, Mr. Biden lost his close friend Republican Senator John McCain to cancer, and his 46-year-old son Beau succumbed to brain cancer. He became King of England following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022. Charles was crowned the king, with his coronation in May.

It has been set that in October, the Royal Couple will travel to Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. No date has been set for the King’s return to his full schedule of public engagements, and the Palace has yet to confirm if the excursions will go ahead, at least, for now.