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LONDON (AP) — King Charles III’s cancer was detected early and the monarch will “continue” with his constitutional duties, the British prime minister said Tuesday, as Prince Harry flew from California for a rare visit to his father.
Royal officials announced on Monday that the 75 year old king He has been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and is receiving outpatient treatment.
Less than 18 months into a reign that had waited decades to begin, Charles suspended public commitments but he will continue with state business (including weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) and will not relinquish his constitutional duties as head of state.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harry could be seen arriving at the king’s Clarence House residence in a black van after an overnight flight.
The two have a troubled relationship and Harry has seen his father infrequently since the prince quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Meghan, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.
Since then, Harry, 39, has detailed his difficult relationship with his family and royal heritage in television interviews, a documentary and a memoir, “Spare.”
About an hour after Harry’s arrival, Charles and Queen Camilla were driven from their residence to nearby Buckingham Palace in a royal Bentley. The couple greeted tourists and well-wishers gathered outside the palace gates. They then traveled by helicopter to Sandringham, the monarch’s rural residence in eastern England.
Buckingham Palace said the king’s cancer was found during Charles’ visit. recent hospital treatment for enlarged prostate, but it is a “separate topic” and not prostate cancer.
“Thankfully this has been caught in time,” Sunak told BBC radio, adding: “We will get on with everything.”
“Many families across the country hearing this will have been touched by the same thing and know what it means for everyone,” Sunak said. “So we’ll be willing to let it continue and hopefully we’ll get through this as quickly as possible.”
The palace said Carlos, who has generally enjoyed good health“remains entirely positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duties as soon as possible.”
Charles became king in September 2022 when his mother, Queen Elizabeth IIHe died at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.
News of the king’s diagnosis comes as his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, recovers from abdominal surgery that kept her hospitalized for about two weeks.
Kate is taking a break from royal duties while she recovers. Her husband, Prince William, who is heir to the throneHe also took time off to help care for her and the couple’s three children, but is due to preside over a ceremony at Windsor Castle and a charity dinner on Wednesday.
Charles departed from royal tradition with his frankness about your prostate condition. For centuries, the British royal family kept their mouths shut on health issues.
Revealing information about his cancer diagnosis, albeit in a limited way, is another break with tradition.
When the monarchs of the United Kingdom had royal power, news of illnesses was hidden for fear that it would weaken their authority. The habit of secrecy persisted after royals became constitutional figures.
The British public was not told that Charles’s grandfather, King George VI, had lung cancer before his death in February 1952 at the age of 56, and some historians have claimed that the king himself was not told. who had a terminal illness.
In the final years of Elizabeth’s life, the public was only told that the queen suffered from “mobility problems” when she began missing public appearances towards the end of her life. The cause of her death was listed on her death certificate simply as “old age.”
When and how much to reveal about the disease remains a difficult issue for many public figures. United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been criticized for failing to tell President Joe Biden and other key leaders that he was being treated for prostate cancer, even as he was hospitalized in intensive care in January for post-operative complications.
Buckingham Palace said the king “has decided to share his diagnosis to avoid speculation and in the hope that it can help public understanding of all those around the world affected by cancer.”
Charles came to the throne with the intention of presiding over a smaller monarchy with less royals perform public ceremonial duties. But with Charles and Kate temporarily sidelined, Harry self-exiled to California, and Prince Andrew largely banished from view due to his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the royal “Firm” risks becoming severely overstretched.
Both William and Camilla are expected to take on additional public engagements during the king’s treatment.
There are currently no plans to call in “state councillors” (senior members of the royal family, including the queen and heir to the throne) to replace the monarch in constitutional duties such as signing laws and receiving ambassadors.
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Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this article.
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