Although King Charles is recovering at home from hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate, he is determined to raise awareness for a huge UK volunteering event held this summer, showing he is ready to return to work.
In his first statement released since spending three nights at The London Clinic, King Charles described the volunteering drive as “all the more important at a time of real hardship for many.”
King Charles has urged the public to sign up to the Big Help Out event in June to try to build “kinder, closer communities.”
At a launch event at the Royal Geographical Society, the King’s communication secretary, Tobyn Andreae, read out the message on behalf of His Majesty.
As reported in the Mirror, and describing this year’s event, the King stated: “I have long believed that one of the greatest strengths of our nation is our ability to come together and help each other through times of hardship.”
This year, the Big Help Out takes place on June 7 to 9, and aims to help people experience “how rewarding volunteering can be”.
The website states over 7 million people say they are more likely to volunteer as a result of seeing the Big Help Out in action before.
Last year, it formed part of the Coronation celebrations in May, and the King’s grandchildren, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, lent a hand renovating a Scot hut and its grounds in Slough.
Describing what the event means to him and the country, the King added: “Throughout my life, I have been encouraged and inspired by those selfless volunteers who dedicate their time and talents to helping others, across all communities and across the full breadth of our country.”
He added it was “wonderful” to hear of the millions who took part last time, describing it as a “source of great pride to my whole family” that the coronation celebrated kindness and “service to others”.
The statement about the Big Help Out initiative also referred to King Charles’s Christmas broadcast in 2023, where he mentioned it is a time of “real hardship” for many. He stressed the nation needed to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves.
The public statement was released shortly after King Charles was discharged from hospital following his planned corrective procedure for a benign enlarged prostate on Friday.
Queen Camilla ensured she was there at The London Clinic to pick him up, with Buckingham Palace later releasing a statement expressing the King’s thanks to medical staff and kind messages received.
