Britain鈥檚 King Charles leaves the London Clinic with Queen Camilla after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate in London, Britain January 29, 2024. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
LONDON 鈥� King Charles鈥� cancer was caught early and the whole country is hoping he can make a full recovery, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday, as messages of support for the 75-year-old monarch poured in from world leaders.
Buckingham Palace revealed on Monday that Charles, on the throne for less than 18 months since the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, was suffering from a 鈥渇orm of cancer鈥� and would postpone his public engagements to undergo treatment.
Charles鈥� younger son Prince Harry, estranged from the royal family, is due to arrive in Britain shortly and his elder brother, heir-to-the-throne Prince William, is expected to step up to fulfill some of the monarch鈥檚 duties.
READ: UK鈥檚 King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
Sunak said he had been 鈥渟hocked and sad鈥� at the news.
鈥淎ll our thoughts are with him and his family. You know, thankfully, this has been caught early,鈥� he told BBC radio.
Charles is planning to continue with much of his private work as monarch including his weekly audience with the prime minister and dealing with state papers, and Sunak said he was in regular contact with the king.
鈥淭hat will of course continue as normal and we鈥檒l crack on with everything,鈥� he said.
Charles spent the night at his Clarence House home near Buckingham Palace on Monday after beginning a series of out-patient treatments.
The cancer was discovered when Charles spent three nights in hospital last month where he underwent a corrective procedure for a benign enlarged prostate. Beyond confirming it is not prostate cancer, the palace has not given any further details.
Surprise diagnosis
The surprise diagnosis dominated Britain鈥檚 newspapers on Tuesday. 鈥淣ation鈥檚 shock as treatment starts鈥� was one headline in tabloid newspaper The Sun.
It is the latest blow for Charles during his year and a half on the throne.
Early last year, Harry published his autobiography 鈥淪pare鈥�, which contained damning revelations about his father and elder brother, while Charles has also had to contend with ongoing allegations against his brother Prince Andrew relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harry, who quit royal duties in 2020, is flying back to Britain from California where he lives with his American wife Meghan and two children after Charles told him and his other immediate family of his diagnosis.
The king鈥檚 cancer revelation comes as Kate, the Princess of Wales and wife of heir William, also recuperates at home after spending two weeks in hospital following planned abdominal surgery for an unspecified but non-cancerous condition.
READ: UK鈥檚 Prince William back to work after wife Kate鈥檚 operation
She is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter and the absence of the senior figures will put pressure on the other working royals to perform extra engagements.
Charles has always been keen to have a more slimmed down monarchy but with his younger brother Andrew and Harry no longer involved, all those who currently carry out royal engagements are aged over 50 apart from William and Kate.
鈥淎fter the upheavals caused by the death of the late Queen and the controversies surrounding the Dukes of Sussex and York (Harry and Andrew), the hopes after the Coronation were for a period of calm and consolidation,鈥� the Daily Telegraph said in an editorial.
鈥淏ut illnesses cannot be predicted or avoided, not even by a man who has looked after himself so well. We, along with the rest of the nation, wish His Majesty a speedy recovery.鈥�