Nearly three months after announcing a cancer diagnosis, King Charles III is getting ready to return to royal duties. On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced that he would return to public engagements next week, and his first event will be a trip to a medical clinic focused on cancer with Queen Camilla.
“His Majesty The King will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis,” the palace statement read. “To help mark this milestone, The King and Queen will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment center next Tuesday, where they will meet medical specialists and patients. This visit will be the first in a number of external engagements His Majesty will undertake in the weeks ahead.” These engagements will include a state visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan, set to take place in June.
The announcement came alongside the release of a new official portrait of the couple on their 19th wedding anniversary on April 10. Taken by Millie Pilkington, it shows the king and queen walking in the gardens at Buckingham Palace. The palace statement also mentioned the upcoming anniversary of King Charles’s 2023 coronation and thanked the public for their support since the big event. “As the first anniversary of The Coronation approaches, Their Majesties remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around the world throughout the joys and challenges of the past year,” it read.
The king said that he would be taking a break from public duties when he announced his diagnosis with an unspecified form of cancer on February 5. The cancer was discovered during a workup for a procedure to treat benign prostate cancer at the London Clinic, though Vanity Fair confirmed at the time that the king was not suffering from prostate cancer. Though the king did not conduct any public engagement while he was undergoing outpatient treatment, he did continue to receive his daily red box delivery of government papers and also hosted small meetings at Buckingham Palace.
Earlier this week, V.F. reported that king had planned to resume public duties as soon as next month and that his treatment was going well “At the moment HRH is doing very well and responding very well to treatment,” the source said. “He is very keen to get back to public-facing duties before June if he can. He is doing well but is frustrated more than anything else that he has had to take time off. He is being a good patient but not always a patient one.”