King Charles III's cancer diagnosis: Prince William does his job according to the rules

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Prince William and his father King Charles III. at a joint appearance in London in November

Photo: Samir Hussein / WireImage / Getty Images

The Prince of Wales had been waiting to become king for decades. After only 18 months in office, Charles III. suffering from cancer. The exact diagnosis was not disclosed, but it is considered a novelty for a king to comment on his health at all.

"Many politicians have rightly stated that they are grateful that the king's cancer was detected early," writes the London "Times" on Wednesday. However, they said little about "the fact that far too many patients in Great Britain receive their diagnosis too late." Accordingly, cancer treatment in Great Britain lags behind comparable countries in Europe. "That needs to change. “Not least because one in two of us will be confronted with such a diagnosis in the course of our lives,” the Times continued.

According to the palace, Charles III is optimistic about his recovery and hopes to be back to full fitness as soon as possible. Nevertheless, there is great concern on the island.

Charles' daughter-in-law Kate is also not fully operational after abdominal surgery. Prince William looks after her and their children, but also attends two official appointments on Wednesday. Since the king's abdication no longer seems unthinkable, all eyes have been on William as heir to the throne.

The 41-year-old will award medals and decorations at Windsor Castle this morning. According to the BBC, among those honored is footballer Ellen White, top scorer for the English national team, who won the 2022 European Championship with the “Lionesses”.

In the evening, the Prince of Wales is expected at the fundraising gala of a London air rescue company. William once worked as a rescue helicopter pilot. He is patron of London's Air Ambulance Charity, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Constitutional expert Craig Prescott from the University of Bangor in Wales no longer believes it is out of the question that William will take over as head of the royal family sooner than expected. »When Charles came to the throne at the age of 74, it did not seem unlikely that he would remain in good health for another 20 years. This assumption has now been shattered," he says, adding that recent developments make an abdication - perhaps in ten years - more likely. “There could be a real need to bring in the next generation with William,” says Prescott.

On Tuesday afternoon, Prince Harry arrived from “exile” in California. He drove to his father's London residence, Clarence House, in a black SUV. King Charles III lives there. with his wife, Queen Camilla. The relationship has been considered strained since Harry and his wife Meghan broke away from the royal family and all royal duties in 2020. The 39-year-old prince commented on the causes of the rift in a documentary and in his memoirs “Spare”. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their two children Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2.

Harry still “Councellor of State”

British media speculated that a reconciliation with Harry could possibly have a healing effect. But a meeting between the brothers Harry and William, who were once considered inseparable but are now enemies, is not planned, according to the BBC and other well-known media.

However, constitutional expert Prescott does not believe it is impossible that Harry and his wife Meghan will one day return to the royal family. As an indication of this, he cites the fact that Harry is still one of the "Councellors of State", one of the king's potential deputies - although he could have been excluded from this if the law had changed. Although he will not be able to fulfill this role as long as he does not carry out royal duties, the door is open. He sees another indication of how important it was to Harry that his children were made prince and princess.

Harry's conversation with his father didn't last long - about an hour after his arrival, Charles and Camilla were seen driving to Buckingham Palace in a Bentley. They waved to the assembled monarchy fans and onlookers. Then we continued by helicopter to the Sandringham country estate.

The king has canceled all public appearances, but wants to continue fulfilling his obligations from his sickbed. Queen Camilla, 76, and 73-year-old Princess Anne are also expected to step in for external appointments. The king's weekly meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are to take place digitally. "Many families in the country are affected by the same thing and they know what it means for everyone," Sunak told the BBC. They stand by Charles and will hopefully “get through this as quickly as possible.”

ala/dpa