Charles – who will only succeed to the throne after his mother’s death in 2022 – first sought treatment for an enlarged prostate in January, with Buckingham Palace announcing the following month that the cancer had been diagnosed.
In the first concrete update on his health since then, Buckingham Palace said on Friday that Charles’ treatment was not over, but that doctors were “very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about the king’s continued recovery.”
The announcement, carefully timed for the 6pm news bulletin, will have been greeted with relief by a British public – not to mention the Westminster bubble – which has grown accustomed to alarmist news from the famously-secretive Buckingham Palace.
While Charles’s role is largely ceremonial, by tradition the king plays a vital role in the smooth functioning of the British state. He signs Acts of Parliament into law and hosts meetings of the Privy Council.
He also meets with the prime minister once a week to provide a sounding board away from the noise and anger of Westminster – a rare sign of stability in a country that is increasingly cycling through its leaders.
Concern about Kate’s health
second of the royal family a terrible year It began in January, when the King sought treatment at a fee-paying London clinic for an enlarged prostate. At the same time, Charles’s daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, who is married to Prince William, the next heir to the throne, was hospitalized for abdominal surgery.