King Charles III resumes his public activities on Tuesday after a three-month gap due to his cancer, with doctors saying they are “sufficiently satisfied” to allow this gradual resumption, adapted to his state of health.
His first appearance promises to be highly scrutinized. The 75-year-old king is going with his wife Camilla, 76, to a cancer center on Tuesday, where he will meet doctors and patients.
However, he is not cured: his treatment continues, and there is no question of a “complete summer program”. His commitments will be “carefully calibrated” in “close consultation with his doctors”, said Buckingham Palace, announcing on Friday the resumption of a “certain number” of commitments.
The King and Queen are also expected to receive Emperor Naruhito of Japan and his wife Empress Masako on an unspecified date in June for a state visit at the invitation of the British government.
Other possible commitments – Royal Ascot, 80th anniversary of D-Day, Trooping the Color in June, traditional garden parties – will be subject to the advice of his doctors, closer to their date.
According to Buckingham Palace, these doctors are “very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain optimistic that the King's recovery will continue.”
Can't wait to start again
Nine months after his coronation in May 2023, the palace announced in early February that Charles III was suffering from cancer, discovered after a prostate operation in January. His nature and state of progress were never specified, but the announcement of his illness was in itself a small revolution, breaking the silence surrounding the king's health until then.
Charles III then suspended his public activities, but continued his tasks as constitutional monarch which include signing laws, meeting regularly with the Prime Minister and validating certain appointments.
The palace regularly released photos or very short videos of him receiving personalities, preparing a speech, or reading get well cards.
The king, very active before his cancer, was apparently eager to resume his public activities.
“I think he is very frustrated (…) at not being able to do everything he wants to be able to do,” his nephew Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, declared on Sky News Australia at the end of March. adding that Charles III “pushed” those around him, including his doctors, to do more.
On Easter Sunday, his face drawn but happy, the king enjoyed a brief, carefully choreographed crowd bath, at the end of matins at the chapel of Windsor Castle.
The year 2024 has been particularly difficult for the British royal family. In addition to the king, the Princess of Wales, Kate, also suffers from cancer, detected after a major abdominal operation in January.
The 42-year-old princess, star of the royal family, announced her illness on March 22 in a moving video, and indicated that she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
She did not specify the nature of her cancer. No news has filtered since from Kensington Palace which manages her communication and that of her husband Prince William, heir to the throne.
The couple celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary on Monday.
He has three children, George, 10 years old, Charlotte, 8 years old and Louis 6 years old.
The princess had clarified in her video that after the “huge shock” of her diagnosis, her family “needed time, space and privacy”.
She hasn't been seen in public since Christmas, aside from this brief video.
The king's youngest son, Harry, who now lives in California, is also expected in London on May 8, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, a multi-sport competition for wounded soldiers and veterans. No one knows if he will come see his father.
