King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace said, and the 75-year-old monarch will now receive treatment during which he will not be carrying out public duties.
The palace did not specify the type of cancer found, except to rule out prostate cancer. The king was recently treated for a benign prostate enlargement, and it was during that treatment that the condition was found, it said.
“The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure,” Buckingham Palace said. “He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”
Although he will pause his public engagements, the king will continue in his constitutional role as head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. He was last seen in public outside a church service in Sandringham in Norfolk on Sunday, where he has one of his residences.
Prince Harry has spoken to the king about the diagnosis and will travel to the UK from California to see his father in the coming days, the PA agency reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
In the House of Commons, speaker Lindsay Hoyle broke off from normal business to wish the monarch a full recovery. “I know the whole country will be wishing him well,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on X, formerly Twitter.
King Charles was crowned last May. He had been next in line to the throne for more than 70 years, as no monarch had sat on the throne longer than his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022.
He had a prostate procedure at a private London hospital more than a week ago, choosing to inform the public with the aim of encouraging men to get prostrate checks, according to his office.
