A new twist of fate for the British royal family.
This Monday, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III was suffering from a “form of cancer”.
“During the King's recent hospital procedure for benign prostatic enlargement, another area of concern was noted.
Subsequent diagnostic tests identified a form of cancer,” the Palace said in a statement without specifying the region of the body affected by the tumor or the stage it had reached.
The monarch, on the throne for a year and a half, “today began the regular treatment program” necessary to treat him.
For the moment, however, there is no question of Charles III giving up control.
“His majesty will continue to take care of state affairs and administrative formalities as usual,” assures the palace.
The BBC says the king continues his weekly meetings with the Prime Minister, despite his diagnosis.
However, his doctors would have advised him “to postpone his interventions with the public”.
According to Buckingham Palace, the king "remains very optimistic about his treatment and looks forward to returning to public duties as soon as possible."
Joe Biden is “worried”
In the United Kingdom, there are numerous messages of support for King Charles III.
“I have no doubt that he will quickly regain all his faculties and I know that the whole country sends him their best wishes,” declared British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on his X account. “The whole country will support the king today today.
Best wishes to Charles III for a speedy and complete recovery,” wrote his predecessor Boris Johnson.
Across the Atlantic, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "Like Canadians across the country and citizens around the world, I am thinking of His Majesty King Charles III, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.
We send him our best wishes and hope for a speedy and full recovery.”
The President of the United States Joe Biden admitted to being “worried” about King Charles, while Donald Trump praised “a wonderful man”.
An upcoming visit from Prince Harry
Prince Harry, exiled in the United States with his wife and two children, will visit his father in the coming days, announced the British press agency PA, informed by a source close to the Duke of Sussex.
Prince William would be in regular contact with his father, according to information from the BBC.
Also readAfter Kate, Charles III hospitalized: is there anyone still at Buckingham?
Last week, during his hospitalization at the London Clinic, the royal palace nevertheless wanted to be reassuring about the state of health of the king, affirming that it had made his hospitalization public in order to encourage screening for the prostate cancer, a common pathology in men of a certain age.
These latest announcements about his state of health come as his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, 42, was hospitalized on January 16 for an abdominal operation, the cause of which is kept secret.
She hasn't been seen in public since appearing with the rest of the family for Christmas.
Kensington Palace announced a week ago that she had been discharged from the private London clinic where she underwent the procedure and was continuing her convalescence at the family home in Windsor, west London.
The reasons for his operation remain mysterious, but it is not cancer, according to British media.
VIDEO.
United Kingdom: Princess Kate hospitalized for surgery
At the end of January, Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who had recently undergone breast cancer surgery, announced that she was suffering from "malignant melanoma", a skin cancer.
If the Duchess of York is no longer an active member of the family, “Fergie” continues to share a manor near Windsor Castle with King Charles's brother.