King Charles will return to work as normal this week, following his brief hospital admission last week over side effects from cancer treatment. Buckingham Palace shared the update after the 76-year-old monarch spent a restful weekend at his home in Highgrove.
The King is expected to hold several engagements this week, including investitures at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. He is also expected to carry out regular state duties and private meetings, as well as preparations for the state visit to Italy with the Queen.
But it is understood that a couple of appointments will be rescheduled to ensure the King has enough rest before flying to Italy next week for a four-day state visit.
The King was forced to cancel a planned trip to Birmingham on Friday after he was admitted to hospital on Thursday for side effects from his planned cancer treatment.
He was kept under medical observation at the London Clinic, where he underwent prostate surgery last January, before being discharged to Clarence House. By evening, the King was reportedly working on state papers in his study.
Next morning Charles appeared in good spirits as he was driven from Clarence House to his rural bolt-hole of Highgrove. With the window of his black Audi opened half-way, the 76-year-old monarch smiled and waved at well-wishers gathered outside his London home.
Palace sources insist his treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, which was diagnosed in February 2024, continues to go in a “positive direction”. One insider described Thursday’s hospital visit as a “minimal interruption to normal service”.
The King and Queen are still expected to make the historic trip to Italy next week, which is scheduled for April 7-10. It will see Charles become the first British sovereign to address both houses of the Italian parliament.
However, the couple have had to postpone their state visit to the Vatican that was scheduled for the same week, due to Pope Francis’s ill-health – not the King’s.
Veteran royal commentator Phil Dampier said: “Charles will be determined to go to Italy. It would have to take a severe turn for the worse in his health for him not to go. I’m sure that the doctors will be urging him to rest and build up reserves of energy in anticipation of the trip.”