The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
The return of the King
Public duties will resume on Tuesday after doctors say they are pleased with treatment progress
THE King is to resume public duties next week, Buckingham Palace has announced, after doctors said they were pleased with the progress of his cancer treatment.
His Majesty, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer since February, will return to public-facing engagements on Tuesday.
His medical team are “very encouraged by the progress made so far”, a spokesman said, and doctors “remain positive about the King’s continued recovery”.
On Tuesday, the King and Queen will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment centre to meet medics and patients, marking what Buckingham Palace describes as a “milestone”. In June, he will host a state visit from the Emperor and Empress of Japan at the request of the British government.
In a short statement giving an update on the King’s health, a palace spokesman said: “His Majesty The King will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis.
“To help mark this milestone, The King and Queen will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment centre 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.”
The spokesman added: “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.”
Sources emphasised that, despite the positive update, the King was still receiving treatment for cancer. There are no plans for him to confirm the type of cancer he has, or the details of his medical procedures.
The Princess of Wales, who is undergoing her own course of preventative chemotherapy following abdominal surgery, will continue her recovery in private.
Yesterday, the palace also issued a new photograph of the King and Queen ahead of the first anniversary of the Coronation. It shows them walking arm in arm in the Buckingham Palace garden on their 19th wedding anniversary earlier this month. In it, the Queen wears a vivid indigo day dress with velvet detail by Fiona Clare. Her husband is in a grey suit, fitting a little looser than usual, with a coordinating blue tie and pocket handkerchief.
The King hopes to begin a managed return to public duties, following more than two months of working on state business behind closed doors. The visit to the cancer treatment centre next week is intended to champion the importance of early diagnosis and highlight its innovative research, supported by Cancer Research UK.
His Majesty has been hailed for raising awareness of cancer, following his public confirmation of his diagnosis on Feb 6. He had previously also been praised for a significant increase in public knowledge about prostate conditions, following an earlier diagnosis of an enlarged prostate. It is hoped that the King will now be able to attend the key engagements of the royal calendar, including Trooping the Colour, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Royal Ascot, and the Buckingham Palace garden parties. The palace has emphasised that “nothing can be confirmed or guaranteed at this stage”, with “appropriate adaptations” made to minimise the risk to the King’s health and recovery.
“His Majesty’s treatment programme will continue, but doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that the King is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties,” said a palace spokesman. “Forthcoming engagements will be adapted where necessary to minimise any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery.”
The spokesman added: “His Majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming some public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued care and expertise.”
‘Their Majesties remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received’
The number of people he might meet will be factored into every appearance
‘The crowd’s roar will surely be louder than ever’
THE King’s visit to a cancer treatment centre next week will mark a fitting return to public duties.
Buckingham Palace has announced that both the King and Queen will meet medical specialists and patients during Tuesday’s visit to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis.
The visit will mark the first engagement the King and Queen have carried out as a couple since November 14, Charles’s 75th birthday, when they launched the Coronation Food Project.
For Charles, it will signal a remarkable turning point and the start of what looks to be a busy rest of the year.
When it was announced at the start of February that the King had been diagnosed with cancer, the monarch would not have been expected to assume he would be greeting the masses at a Buckingham Palace summer garden party, never mind boarding a plane for the other side of the world.
But just three months after the diagnosis, the palace has revealed that he is responding so well to treatment that he is able to undertake a programme of summer engagements.
From the Chelsea Flower Show to Royal Ascot, the summer social season incorporates the big set pieces of the royal calendar.
And to his immense delight, the King will find himself at its heart. The relief within his court is almost palpable, although aides insist that engagements will be “adapted where necessary” to minimise any risks to his health.
Despite the King’s own wholly positive outlook, caution has long been the watchword. Variables such as the capacity for downtime and the number of people he might meet will be factored into every appearance.
The annual Buckingham Palace garden parties have long kicked off the season, as thousands of guests gather in their hats and tailcoats to enjoy finger sandwiches and beautifully presented cakes on the expansive palace lawn.
This year’s garden parties will take place on May 8 and May 21
The King expects to attend at least one of them, although whether he processes down a long “lane” greeting the great and the good, as per tradition, remains to be seen.
Some three weeks later, the King is hoping to join the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day.
On June 6, commemorative events on both sides of the Channel will mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings, celebrating those who ran the gauntlet of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall and setting the wheels in motion for the liberation of Western Europe.
Then comes Trooping the Colour, the monarch’s official birthday parade, which will have an added celebratory air this year.
To the relief of all concerned, not least the King himself, His Majesty is expected to be the star guest during the colourful spectacle on June 15.
Since March, Buckingham Palace and the Ministry of Defence have been working in lockstep, exploring ways in which he could take part whilst avoiding any undue risk to his health.
Options included watching the pomp and the pageantry from a podium, rather than on horseback, and being driven from Buckingham Palace in a carriage.
As the King joins other senior members of the Royal family on the palace balcony for the RAF flypast, the crowd’s roar will surely be louder than ever.