In February 2024, King Charles announced his cancer diagnosis. It was something never seen before from a British monarch, and Charles spent the next several months seeking treatment and taking more time off. By the summer of 2024, Charles looked worse and yet he was doing more events and being seen out in public more often. Ever since, Charles has kept up a busier schedule than his heir and his heir’s wife combined, all while looking like ten kinds of hell. I genuinely believed the end was nigh, and to be fair, that’s the way most royal commentators were talking too. Prince William clearly believed he would be (scooter) king sooner rather than later. Prince Harry also said outright that “the next year” would be significant, and that’s why he was attempting to reconcile with Charles. All of the indications were there. Well, we were wrong. Charles is doing better. That was his big announcement on Friday.
King Charles has shared “good news” about his cancer, saying in a personal message that early diagnosis and “effective intervention” means his treatment can be reduced in the new year.
In a recorded video message broadcast on Channel 4 for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the King said: “This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care.”
The type of cancer has not been identified and treatment and monitoring will continue, but he said: “Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
According to Buckingham Palace, the King’s recovery has reached a very positive stage and he has “responded exceptionally well to treatment”, so much so that doctors will now move his treatment “into a precautionary phase”. The regularity of treatment is going to be significantly reduced – but the King, 77, is not described as being in remission or “cured”.
“Today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to ‘doctors’ orders’, my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year,” the King said in his speech. The video message, recorded in Clarence House two weeks ago, was played in the Stand Up To Cancer show on Channel 4 on Friday evening, in a fundraising project run with Cancer Research UK.
The campaign encourages more people to get tested for cancer and to take advantage of national screening schemes – and the King’s message emphasised the importance of checks to catch cancer at an early stage.
“I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming. Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams,” said the King. Early detection could be a lifesaver, he said: “Your life, or the life of someone you love, may depend upon it.”
The King also spoke of how much he had been “profoundly moved by what I can only call the ‘community of care’ that surrounds every cancer patient – the specialists, the nurses, researchers and volunteers who work tirelessly to save and improve lives”.
The King said it “troubles me deeply” that this represents nine million missed opportunities to catch cancer early – and he urged people to use the screening checker online tool.
“The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in 10 people survive for at least five years. When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in 10,” he said.
According to royal sources, the King’s reference to bowel cancer should not be seen as linked to his own condition, and prostate cancer has previously been ruled out.
I’m genuinely happy for him. While he and his courtiers are taking pains to NOT say “cancer-free” or “remission,” this is clearly a good sign. He spent, what? Almost 22 months receiving weekly cancer treatments in London, and apparently the treatments were so specialized that he actually had to be IN London for them, the treatment could not come to him. This will free up his schedule a bit, which isn’t nothing – he’ll potentially be able to really take a break for a few weeks and get some real rest. He’ll be able to travel for longer than a day or two. And most importantly, we won’t get daily reminders of the Scooter King’s incoming reign of terror/laziness. Long live the king! Or whatever!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red. Screencap courtesy of the Independent/Stand Up to Cancer.
