King Charles has been receiving ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ therapy since his diagnosis was confirmed in early 2024. The monarch has taken the required time to recover, sensibly choosing not to perform royal duties for several months. Many people are pleased that he has recently returned to serving the monarchy alongside his wife.
Although Charles is doing significantly better, it is crucial to note that his ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ is still ongoing. Queen Camilla is apparently doing her best to help her husband not rushing back into royal life, but sources claim that the two are at differences over the appropriate technique.
In less than two weeks, Charles and Camilla will go to Australia and Samoa for an eight-day trip. The trip has sparked worry among experts and fans, but the Palace has made every effort to tailor it to the King’s health situation. One item will be sacrificed during the long journey, and that is King Charles’ ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.
In early February, King Charles was diagnosed with ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ. Although the monarch is still recovering after nine months, he has resumed some regal duties.
The ensuing few months have not been easy, but Charles has been universally praised for the decision he took following his diagnosis.
Why King Charles decided to reveal his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ diagnosis to the public
The monarch, who is under no obligation to expose any private affairs to the public, stated unequivocally that he intended to share his diagnosis with the world.
“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ,” a statement on February 5 read.
In sum, Charles’ decision to share his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ diagnosis could have saved lives. According to the Associated Press, Cancer Research UK saw a 33% spike in website visitors as people searched for information on ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ’s indications and symptoms.
“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” Charles said in a statement some days after the first update on his health.
“As all those who have been affected by ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
The monarch added: “It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ patients and their families across the UK and wider world.”
“My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
Queen Camilla was against sharing his diagnosis, family friend claims
Medical professionals and royal admirers hailed Charles’ decision, but not everyone agreed it was a smart idea. Queen Camilla did not want her husband to reveal that he had ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ at all, but Charles “overruled her.”
And, while Charles and Camilla have made it through what can only be characterized as a difficult time together, there are tales of a ‘ongoing conflict’ between them.
Despite his aforementioned condition, Charles continues to maintain a busy schedule of royal activities. Camilla’s pal said that she is “deeply unhappy” with her husband’s busy schedule and would rather that he focus on his recovery.
“Camilla would have been deeply unhappy that having only begun his holiday on Monday, he broke it off on Tuesday to do an incredibly intense engagement,” the friend told the Daily Beast.
“Of course, she understands it was very important, and there is no way she would try to tell Charles what to do, but it seems to be extraordinary timing. She wants him to slow down, she is afraid he is working too hard, and that’s before you even get to the Australia tour.”
Another friend said: “She has been trying to encourage him to slow down. Of course, he wants to keep cracking on, but she is afraid that doing too much could set him back.”
King Charles & Queen Camilla – Australia & Samoa state visits
While Camilla wishes her husband would slow down, the couple is about to embark on a long journey.
The king and queen will make an eight-day state visit to Australia and Samoa in less than two weeks, traveling almost 10,000 miles from London to Sydney next Thursday. Overall, they will be away for eleven days.
“Their Majesties, The King and Queen, will undertake an Autumn tour from Friday 18th to Saturday 26th October 2024,” a Palace spokesperson said. “This will include a royal visit to Australia, State Visit to the Independent State of Samoa and attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024. The program will be structured around celebrating the host countries as well as reflecting the King and Queen’s interests and work.”
“The King, who has this year been receiving ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ for ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ, will meet Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scoyler, both Australians of the Year, and will hear about the work they do to help those affected by melanoma, one of Australia’s most common ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀs.”
Because the king isn’t 100 percent fit, the tour will be slightly different.
According to royal analyst Cameron Walker, Charles will confront “very clear adaptations,” which will be a “big contrast” from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s journey to Australia.
King Charles to ‘pause’ ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ during Australia & Samoa trip
“As we knew, doctors had given the King the green light to travel. It is going to be the first long-haul travel the King has done since his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ diagnosis,” Walker told GB News. “But it’s very clear from the information I’ve received this afternoon that adaptions have been made. For example, New Zealand originally was on the agenda for the King and Queen to travel to – that has now been ruled out on doctor’s advice.”
The royal expert added: “Because he’s been mindful that he’s undergoing ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ, he’s also going to be spending some time at an engagement to do with melanoma and ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.”
The travel from Australia to Samoa will be more than just a test of King Charles’ health. According to the Daily Mail, Charles will suspend his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ during the state visits. According to the publication, he will continue with his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ until flight, but his physicians “are happy for it to be briefly stopped while he is away.”
Furthermore, Queen Camilla, who has been hailed for her perseverance during this difficult year, plans to spend a pre-tour holiday with friends.
“The fortnight in the run up to the royal tour has been kept deliberately light for His Majesty. He will still be undertaking meetings, doing his paperwork and still come down for treatment,” a source told the Daily Mail.
“Australia is a big deal and he wants to be fighting fit. As soon as he returns he is also straight into a really intense programme all the way up to Christmas.”
Royal expert says ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ pause is “good news”
The source added: “The late Queen would stay in Scotland into October and he’s decided to do the same. It’s a place of peace for him and that’s more imperative than usual this year because of what he has coming up. For a workaholic [like him] it’s the chance to have a small breather.”
The fact that Charles is able to temporarily suspend his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ therapy can only be interpreted as a positive indication. According to royal analyst Jennie Bond, the king is preparing for “testing.”
“Charles is 75, he is not a young man by any means,” Bond told GB News. “He has been on the world scene for decades. His shoulders are broad and his mind is attuned to everything going on around the world. He is making a great job of it. I just hope he can continue to do so and get through this ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.”
The former BBC royal correspondent went on to say, “He is set to travel to Australia with Camilla, that will be quite testing I should think. But he is back on the world scene. That is good news.”
The king’s doctors will, of course, accompany him on the Australia-Samoa journey, but they will not be there just to support his ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.
Charles has traveled abroad for formal engagements and tours numerous times over the years. Some visits take longer than others, but in addition to his typical luggage, his doctor carries something pretty extraordinary: blood.
Why King Charles is traveling with bags of blood
In 2016, The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner reported that the late Queen Elizabeth II, like King Charles today, traveled with a Royal Navy doctor. One of the doctor’s responsibilities was to gather information on nearby hospitals.
“In countries where a reliable blood supply is questionable, the Queen and the Prince of Wales both travel with their own personal packs of blood following in their convoy wherever they go,” he added. “Their doctor is never more than a few paces away, carrying a bulky medical bag containing a mobile defibrillator and all manner of emergency medicine.”
Dickie Arbiter, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II and media manager for King Charles III and Princess Diana, stated the same thing on Hello! Magazine’s A Right Royal podcast.
“You’ve got to make sure that you’re covered in every eventuality,” Arbiter said. “And the aircraft-carried blood as well. Blood, yes, for in the case there was a blood transfusion,” he said.
“There’s never really a guarantee that you’re going to get the right type of blood at your destination,” he added. “So you carry it.”
The sad reason why there is always an all-black outfit onboard
Shannon Felton Spence, a royal analyst who traveled with Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, in 2015, said Fox News that traveling with blood “makes sense”. Moreover, the royals are always dressed in black.
“The late Queen Elizabeth II was caught totally off-guard when her father ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ while she was in Kenya,” Felton Spence said. “She didn’t have a black outfit to exit the plane in the U.K. Knowing that the world’s photographers would be on her, a lady’s maid had to run a black dress up the tarmac to her so she could change before she stepped out.”
She added: “But it’s not just if a member of the family were to ᴘᴀss ᴀᴡᴀʏ. It’s any major dignitary throughout the world. Given how unpredictable that can be and the lessons learned from 1952 with the queen, they always travel with one appropriate all-black outfit.”
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