A palace insider has revealed it was a “conscious choice” for King Charles not to disclose the specific type of cancer he had been diagnosed with.
In shocking news early this year, Buckingham Palace announced His Majesty had been diagnosed “with a form of cancer”.
As reported in the Times, a palace source has revealed the King’s decision not to reveal the type of cancer was a conscious choice to be able to reach out to the widest number of people who are experiencing the disease, rather than narrow the focus onto a particular form of cancer.
It comes as King Charles’s treatment will continue into 2025 and is moving “in a positive direction”.
A Buckingham Palace insider told Sky News: “His treatment has been moving in a positive direction, and as a managed condition, the treatment cycle will continue into next year.”
The cancer diagnosis followed King Charles informing the public he would undergo a procedure to treat a large prostate at the start of the year, which led to a rise in searches for information about the condition.
The NHS website’s page on prostate enlargement received 11 times more visits than on the previous day after Buckingham Palace’s announcement that “in common with thousands of men each year” the King was receiving treatment. One person visited the site every five seconds, or 16,410 in total, NHS England said.
Throughout the course of the year, the King has received regular treatment which he paused with the approval of doctors in October to allow himself and Queen Camilla to complete their jam-packed royal tour of Australia and Samoa. He then resumed the treatment when he returned to the UK.
After the tour, it was announced that Charles, 76, would continue a full royal tour in 2025 if it gained medical approval.
A Senior Palace official said at the time: “We’re now working on a pretty normal looking full overseas tour program for next year, which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms – subject to sign off by doctors. It is hard to overstate the joy that he takes from duty and service and being in public and seeing those crowds engaging with communities across the spectrum. That really does lift the spirits. You can see that.”
Before enjoying a restful Christmas break in Sandringham, the King and Queen will carry out their last big public engagement.
They are set to meet local community volunteers, young people, emergency services, and faith representatives in Waltham Forest, London.
For their final visit of the year they wanted to thank communities who responded to the disorder that flared up in the summer following the Southport stabbings.
This follows the pre-Christmas lunch hosted by His Majesty on December 19 at Buckingham Palace, a major event which the Prince and Princess of Wales missed as the Wales family are already in Norfolk, celebrating the start of the holidays.
They will then be with the King and Queen in time for the traditional Christmas family reunion.
