King Charles III’s cancer comes at a difficult time for British royalty

The cancer announcement king Charles III It adds to a particularly difficult start to the year for the British royal family, following the operation of their daughter-in-law, Princess Catherine, who will be at rest at least until Easter.

The illness of the 75-year-old monarch was announced by Buckingham Palace to “avoid speculation.”

In a statement, the royal house explained that the king began treatment and his doctors advised him to suspend his public activities, without giving more details about the “form of cancer” he suffers from. However, he will continue to “deal with state affairs and administrative tasks as usual.”

Charles III, who succeeded his mother Elizabeth II 17 months ago and was crowned on May 6, had announced on January 17 that he was going to undergo surgery for prostate hypertrophy.

After an operation at the London Clinic, an elegant establishment in the center of the capital where he spent three nights, he returned home on January 29. The palace then specified that she would not immediately resume her engagements “to allow for a recovery period.” The cancer was discovered during the intervention.

The king was hospitalized in the same establishment as his daughter-in-law, the princess of Wales Catherine42, who spent 13 days there in January to undergo abdominal surgery, the details of which have not been made public.

She also left the clinic on January 29 for a long convalescence at her home in Windsor, which will last until at least March 31.

The very popular Princess of Wales has not been seen since Christmas. Her husband, Prince William, 41, heir to the crown, suspended his activities after his wife was hospitalized on January 16.

The couple has three children: Jorge, 10, Carlota, 8, and Luis, 5.

William announced today that he was going to resume his activities when the king’s cancer diagnosis became public.

As if that were not enough, Sara Ferguson, 64, ex-wife of Prince Andrew, brother of Charles III, announced on January 21 that she was suffering from malignant melanoma, a skin cancer.

Six months earlier, in June 2023, she had already announced that she had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer.

The malignant melanoma was discovered during tests ordered by a dermatologist, when the Duchess of York was due to undergo reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy. A mole was identified as cancerous.

Sara continues to live in Windsor, in a royal residence that she shares with Prince Andrew, to whom she remains very close despite their divorce in 1996.

These successive health problems have almost halved the circle of active members of the British royal family, and have left Queen Camilla, 76, on the front line, in charge of numerous commitments each week.

Princess Anne, Charles III’s 73-year-old sister, is also present, as is Prince Edward, 59, his younger brother, and his wife, Sofia.

But their activities tend to receive much less coverage in the press.

The circle of active members of the British royal family has been reduced in recent years with the departure to the United States of Prince Harry and his wife, the former American actress Meghan Markle, and the withdrawal of Prince Andrew from public life following a scandal of sexual abuse of a minor years ago in the United States.