Return of the king
Charles in good spirits at first appearance after cancer
Caring, confidence and a hand to hold can help with recovery. King Charles III gave both to other cancer patients on Tuesday during his first appearance after his cancer diagnosis. According to his doctors, the monarch is not yet completely healthy himself.
Together with his wife Camilla, the 75-year-old made a symbolic visit to a cancer center in London. TV pictures showed the smiling King shaking hands before entering the Macmillan Center, where he spoke with patients about their experiences and treatment.
Touching: During the meeting with the patients, the monarch repeatedly reached for their hands to give them strength and courage. A strength with which he himself has been fighting his cancer for months.
Among others, the royal couple spoke with cancer patient Lesley Woodbridge, who is currently undergoing the second round of chemotherapy, and her husband Roger.
The importance of early cancer detection
With his visit, the King wants to emphasize the importance of early cancer detection and modern research in the fight against the disease.
The King is patron of the British charity Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. His 76-year-old wife Camilla is President of Maggie's, another charity for cancer sufferers.
"Satisfied with the progress made"
His doctors had cleared him to return to the public after they were "sufficiently satisfied with the progress made". However, treatment is still ongoing.
Charles III's cancer was made public by Buckingham Palace at the beginning of February. It was discovered when the King was hospitalized for a benign enlargement of the prostate. The royal family did not comment on the type of cancer diagnosed, but it is not prostate cancer.
The monarch has since suspended his public appointments due to the diagnosis. A decision will now be made on a case-by-case basis. In any case, the monarch will not be returning to normality for the time being.
Reception for the Japanese royal couple
However, the palace has already announced that the royal couple will receive Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife Masako for a state visit in June. The imperial couple had already traveled to the UK in September 2022 to attend the funeral of Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth II.
It is not yet clear whether Charles will take part in important events such as his birthday parade, Trooping the Color or the commemoration of the Allied landings in Normandy 80 years ago, according to the palace.
There will not be a full summer program, the spokesman said. Any public appearance would be announced at short notice and would be subject to medical advice.
New "Annus horribilis"?
"Annus horribilis" (terrible year) - this is how Queen Elizabeth II christened the year 1992, when the marriages of three of her four children broke up and Windsor Castle burned down.
With the cancer diagnoses of King Charles III and his daughter-in-law Kate (42) this year, the term is doing the rounds again.
"2024 will certainly be remembered as a difficult year for the Royal Family. But I doubt it will be another 'annus horribilis'," said constitutional expert Craig Prescott from Royal Holloway University of London in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Perhaps with the king's return to the public eye, people will soon stop thinking about how difficult it started. After all, there are still plans for the royal couple to travel to Australia this year.
Daughter-in-law Kate also has cancer
On March 22, Charles' daughter-in-law Princess Catherine also announced that she had cancer. Without naming the type of cancer, the 42-year-old informed the British public that she had started preventative chemotherapy. Catherine's cancer, commonly known as Kate, was discovered after the mother-of-three underwent abdominal surgery in mid-January.
Prince William, Charles III's eldest son, temporarily withdrew from the public eye due to his wife's cancer. Just over a week ago, however, the Crown Prince returned to his official duties.
"Gap in the inner circle"
In the eyes of constitutional expert Prescott, this is a real problem for the royals. Surveys show that support for the monarchy is dwindling among younger age groups anyway. Without William and Kate, the average age of the royals would be considerably higher. "There is a gap in the inner circle of the royal family and that gap is the size of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex," Prescott said of Prince Harry (39) and Duchess Meghan (42).
The younger son of King Charles and his wife have been away from the royals for a good four years and now live in the US state of California. The relationship with the other royals is considered to have broken down.
According to the constitutional expert, it will be some time before William and Kate's children can fill this gap. Prince George is ten, Princess Charlotte eight and Prince Louis six years old.
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