King’s cancer journey: From diagnosis to new update on health

The King’s cancer diagnosis early in 2024 marked the start of what his eldest son the Prince of Wales described as the most “brutal” year with the Princess of Wales also being diagnosed with cancer.

News that Charles’s schedule of treatment is being reduced in the new year will be of welcome relief to the royal family, especially in the run up to the Christmas holidays.

Kate is in remission after finishing her chemotherapy treatment last year, and now the monarch’s recovery is said to have reached a very positive stage.

Charles was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 75 and less than a year and a half into his reign.

The disease was discovered while he was having a corrective procedure for a benign enlarged prostate, for which he spent three nights in hospital.

Buckingham Palace, announcing the news in February 2024, described it as a “form of cancer” but said it was not prostate cancer.

The monarch postponed all public duties and began a schedule of treatment as an outpatient straight away, with get well messages flooding in from around the world.

He was described as being “wholly positive” and thankful for the swift response of his medical team, and returned to public appearances a few months later amid ongoing treatment.

In September of that year, when the King reached the second anniversary of his accession to the throne and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a royal source said his health was “heading in a very positive trajectory”.

William, in November 2024, described the past 12 months, with his wife and father’s health challenges, as “brutal” and probably “the hardest year of my life”.

There was a setback for the King in March 2025 when he was briefly admitted to hospital for observation after suffering side effects from his ongoing treatment.

Charles, who is known for being a workaholic, is said to have thrived on carrying out public and state duties, seeing them as being of great benefit to his overall wellbeing.

The Queen previously told author Lee Child at at her Reading Room literary festival that her husband was “doing fine” but “won’t slow down and won’t do what he’s told”.

Charles has forged ahead with a packed programme over the past two years including a long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa.

He became the first British monarch since the Reformation to pray alongside the Pope in a public service this year and hosted three incoming state visits to Windsor including one for US President Donald Trump.

In April, the King poignantly reflected on his experience of cancer, saying it had brought into “sharp focus the very best of humanity” and telling cancer charities: “You have my whole family’s deepest admiration and gratitude.”

Charles described how diagnosis is “daunting and at times frightening”, in a deeply personal, written message, released to coincide with a Palace reception he hosted to celebrate organisations helping people with the disease.

In May, a senior royal aide said the King may be living with cancer but they had seen “no difference” in Charles and his life was “as normal as possible” with a busy schedule.

The same month, on an away day to Bradford, the King was asked by florist Safeena Khan about his health and replied with a thumbs-up and told her “I’d like to think I’m on the better side (of my cancer journey)”.

On Friday evening, in a message to the nation as part of Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer night, the King revealed the “good news” that “thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders”, his treatment was being reduced in the new year.

“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years,” he said.