Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP 6:36 p.m., February 6, 2024
King Charles III was seen leaving his London residence at Clarence House by car on Tuesday, in his first public appearance after announcing his cancer the day before, which caused immense shock in the United Kingdom.
Smiling and waving to the crowd from the back seat of the vehicle, King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Camilla, had just received a - brief - visit from his youngest son, Prince Harry, who had just arrived from the United States, where he lives since 2020.
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Harry, at odds with the royal family for years, had landed earlier at Heathrow airport, according to British media. Charles III and Camilla first went to nearby Buckingham Palace, from where they were then due to travel by helicopter to the country residence of Sandringham in eastern England, according to the PA news agency.
Absent from public life for an indefinite period
After 17 months on the throne, Charles III, who received his first treatment on Monday, will be absent from public life for an indefinite period. Wishes for recovery poured in from around the world after the announcement, which caused a shock in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, wanted to be reassuring about the state of health of the 75-year-old king, declaring on the BBC that his cancer had been “detected early”.
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“I am of course in regular contact with (the king) and I will continue to communicate with him as usual,” added the conservative leader, who speaks weekly with the king. The “form of cancer” from which Charles III suffered was not specified. We know that the disease was detected during an operation for benign prostatic hypertrophy at the end of January, but that it is not prostate cancer.
“Very optimistic” about his treatment
The sovereign assured that he was "very optimistic" about his treatment and that he would continue to carry out "state affairs and administrative tasks", linked to his role as head of state of 15 countries, including the United Kingdom.
But while he was already resting for his prostate operation, his absence from public life promises to be longer than expected, removing from the spotlight a king who waited 70 years to ascend the throne, and had shown to be particularly active since then, multiplying field visits and trips abroad.
"We are shocked because the king really started strong, he went to France, to Germany, and we hoped that it would be like this for a long time", explains to AFP Sue Hazell, visiting the north of England with her husband, in front of Buckingham Palace.
Gill Armstrong, 71, hopes for a quick recovery: "he has done a good job since he became king, he will be hard to replace." The illness plunges the monarchy back into uncertainty a year and a half after the shock of the death of Elizabeth II at the age of 96 and more than 70 years of reign.
A reconciliation with his son?
Especially since one of the most beloved figures of the royal family, Princess Kate, wife of Prince William, is in a long convalescence after a mysterious abdominal operation in January, for which she remained hospitalized for almost two weeks. She has not appeared since Christmas and her return is not expected before Easter, at the end of March.
It is therefore mainly up to Queen Camilla, 76 years old, and William, 41-year-old crown prince, to represent the monarchy. Shortly before the announcement of the king's cancer, the prince announced that he would resume his public activities on Wednesday, suspended for several weeks to stay with Kate and their three children.
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The arrival in London of Prince Harry has raised new hopes of reconciliation between the Duke of Sussex, who left in 2020, and the rest of the family, notably his brother. According to British media, he came alone to London, without his wife Meghan or their two children, Archie and Lilibet, as during the coronation last May.
As with his operation for a benign prostate problem, Charles III chose not to hide his illness, contrasting with the secrecy surrounding the health of previous sovereigns. The palace, however, remained short of details. As it stands, an abdication seems unlikely, Charles III having, like his mother, promised "a life of service".