Carlos FresnedaLondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Thursday, March 28, 2024-12:35

  • Monarchy Carlos III announces that he has cancer

  • Shock Kate Middleton announces that she suffers from cancer detected after her operation and that she is receiving chemotherapy

King Charles III has extolled the value of "friendship" in his

Easter message

, recorded at Buckingham Palace and broadcast this Thursday morning during a ceremony at Worcester Cathedral presided over by Queen Camilla. This is the British monarch's first public intervention since he announced his

cancer

diagnosis in early February.

"Jesus gave an example of how to serve and care for one another," King Charles stressed in his brief speech. "As a nation, we need and benefit greatly from those who reach out to us, especially

in times of need

."

The 75-year-old monarch avoided an explicit reference to his own illness, but reiterated the motto as the one adopted by the Crown after the death of Elizabeth II in September 2022, as a declaration of intentions for his return to the arena. public:

"I am to serve, not to be served

. "

Despite the temporary suspension of his agenda while the unspecified treatment he is undergoing lasts, Carlos III will provisionally reappear on

Easter Sunday

, in an event baptized as

Eastern Lite

with the reduced presence of guests in the chapel of Saint George, in Windsor, the same one where

Harry

and

Meghan

got married .

Prince

William

and Kate Middleton, who are spending the holidays with their children George, Charlotte and Louis at the Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk, will be absent from the family event. After Kate's recent message acknowledging her own cancer diagnosis and treatment with adjuvant

chemotherapy

, the family has decided to "isolate themselves from the world" to escape media pressure, as

an advisor close to the Royal Family acknowledged to

The Times .


Although a fleeting appearance is not ruled out, Guillermo has put his public events on hold until

April 17

, when his children's vacation ends. Until then, the weight of the Monarchy in the public eye will continue to fall on Queen Camilla, who on Wednesday allowed herself to be photographed as she passed through Shrewsbury with the citizens' sign that said Send Our

Love to

Kate. .


Camilla today replaced Charles III as the highest representative of the

Church of England

in the religious event of Maundy Thursday, known as

Royal Maundy

, a tradition that dates back to 1662 when King Charles II distributed coins among the "needy." The event, which commemorates the last supper of Jesus Christ, has been updated with the symbolic delivery of coins to 75 women and 75 men (as many as the monarch is old) highlighted for his service to the community.


Camilla arrived by helicopter at the stroke of midday and was greeted at the entrance to the cathedral by the Bishop of Worcester,

John Inge

. More than a thousand people cheered the queen upon her arrival, although there was also a notable presence of militants from the Republic group, dressed in yellow.


"We are truly sorry to hear of Carlos and Kate's cancer diagnosis," said Republic CEO Graham Smith. "But unlike monarchists, we do not identify the family with the institution. This campaign is based on principles, politics and reform. We will continue protesting as long as we have a Monarchy."