Here are some photos of King Charles from this week. He went solo to an Advent Service at Westminster Abbey on December 10th. He looked quite pale and tired. He’s aged a decade in the past two years. I keep thinking about Robert Jobson’s latest book, in which high-placed sources claimed that Charles was in a lot of pain even before his cancer diagnosis nearly two years ago. February will be the two-year anniversary of Charles’s diagnosis. The British papers have stopped mentioning Charles’s weekly treatments, but he’s still getting them and he still builds his schedule around being in London mid-week for those (undisclosed) treatments. Well, later today, Charles is going to speak publicly, via a television address, about his cancer. The headlines make it sound like Charles is going to deliver a dramatic announcement about his health – this does not seem to be the case. It sounds as if it’s more like a general statement about early cancer screenings and general support for people with cancer and cancer survivors.
The King is to deliver a personal message to the nation about his cancer. He has recorded a television broadcast from the Morning Room at Clarence House about his “recovery journey”, alongside a plea for early cancer screening. The video message, filmed at the end of November, will be aired on Channel 4 at 8pm on Friday as part of Stand Up To Cancer 2025, a joint campaign with Cancer Research UK.
The King was expected to stress the importance of cancer screening programmes in enabling early diagnosis and reflect on his own recovery journey, Buckingham Palace said.
The King was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024 after he underwent checks on a prostate issue. At the time, he was widely praised for his openness, which helped to raise awareness of the symptoms of his initial diagnosis of an enlarged prostate and then cancer. He has undergone weekly cancer treatment since then and been in hospital with the side effects.
The King has never disclosed the type of cancer he has, other than to specify that it is not prostate, in the hopes of raising awareness and communicating with the widest possible public audience as well as discouraging people from researching the prognosis.
The King’s message will form part of an evening of programming at the end of a week-long Stand Up to Cancer campaign. The night is intended to raise funds for cancer research and support all those affected by the illness. It will be followed by a live broadcast from a cancer clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, presented by Davina McCall.
This year, Stand Up To Cancer has launched a simple online screening checker to help members of the public research the breast, bowel and cervical screening programmes they may be eligible for. The King is patron of Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK.
Again, it sounds like a regular message of support, not a big update about the state of his health. I jumped when I saw the headlines too, because as head of state, Charles has probably been encouraged to make a televised public address about the state of his health. You know what I’m saying? If he had something major to announce, he would do it via a prerecorded, televised statement. But that’s not what this is. This is something in association with Stand Up to Cancer. Speaking of, it’s odd that the Princess of Wales isn’t doing anything with Stand Up to Cancer or really any cancer charity or cancer network.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
