The King’s choice to be as candid and transparent as possible about his cancer treatment has led us into “uncharted waters,” according to Royal experts. No reigning monarch has ever publicly acknowledged having cancer before, as Palace Confidential expert Richard Eden points out: “When his grandfather George VI had cancer, he wasn’t even told himself.”
While many specifics of King Charles’s condition – including the exact type of cancer he is battling – remain undisclosed, he has been remarkably open about his treatment, including last week’s episode when doctors chose to “err on the side of caution” and admit him to hospital for observation. “We have our Monarch, our head of state, undergoing this extensive cancer treatment,” Richard said. “Clearly, we’re in uncharted waters… but if he needs to visit hospital because he’s feeling a bit under the weather from treatment, which is quite understandable, people do start to worry and panic a bit.”
Buckingham Palace issued a statement at the end of last week explaining that following “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer,” the 76-year-old King “experienced temporary side effects that necessitated a brief period of observation in hospital”.
King Charles III recently took a step back from his Royal duties, cancelling several engagements and instead enjoyed a quiet weekend at Highgrove. The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden suggested that Queen Camilla probably wishes the King would generally take things easy, instead of rushing back to work: “I do get the sense that the queen is very keen to slow him down a bit,” he said.
Richard added: “I think she’d rather, frankly, that he was, you know, relaxing in the garden and not doing any jobs at all, but that’s just not him.”
Royal correspondent Rebecca English expressed her astonishment that the news of the King’s hospitalisation was made public at all. She recalled: “In the old days, even with Queen Elizabeth, in the years before her death she had an overnight stay in hospital that we weren’t told about.”
The eventual leak of that information and subsequent public backlash may have influenced the current monarch’s decision for transparency.
Despite this openness, King Charles has maintained some privacy, as Rebecca notes: “He’s still allowing himself some privacy – which he’s entitled to – which is one of the reasons why they haven’t said what kind of cancer it is.”
Revealing such details could spark rampant speculation, she says, with royal fans rushing to research the condition’s symptoms and causes online.
Rebecca said that she thought that the King’s choice for openness is a personal one: “He has genuinely made a personal decision that he wants to be as open as possible with people.”
Richard pointed out that the fact the King hadn’t cancelled his scheduled trip to Italy — despite the Pope’s recent ill-health presenting a perfect excuse — “shows you how determined he and the queen are to fulfil their duties”.
Despite last week’s setback, which was referred to by his staff as a “bump in the road”, the King has resumed his public engagements, including commemorating Papua New Guinea’s 50 years of independence.
He explained his decision to disclose his hospital stay was to curb any rumours and “assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer”.