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King Charles today carried out official duties for the first time since the Princess of Wales shared her cancer news with the nation.
The monarch smiled warmly at the public as he left Windsor Castle this morning after a difficult weekend for the Royal Family.
Today, Buckingham Palace confirmed Charles, 75, will join the Queen and other members of the royal family at the annual Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle this weekend.
Shortly after the announcement this morning, Charles met community and faith leaders from across the UK in the Palace’s Billiard Room.
He was welcoming alumni from the Windsor Leadership Trust, which encourages multi-faith dialogue, harmony and understanding at a time of heightened international tensions.
Both the monarch and the Princess of Wales were inpatients at the prestigious clinic in Marylebone, north London, in January as they underwent major surgery.
Insiders said King Charles, who was treated for an enlarged prostate, was seen walking from his hospital bed, to see Princess Kate along the corridor.
At the time, Princess Kate had undergone abdominal surgery – not thought to be for a malign condition – but on Friday, she revealed post-operative tests found signs of cancer.
King Charles speaks with Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust Martina Milburn as he attends an audience in the Billiard Room at Buckingham Palace today
The King sits next to Vijaya Nath, trustee of Windsor Leadership, alongside community faith leaders from across the UK at today’s audience at Buckingham Palace
The King appeared in positive spirits after weeks of intense speculation directed at the Royal Family
Sitting on a bench at Windsor, surrounded by spring flowers, the Princess of Wales took the extraordinary step on Friday of revealing to the world that she had cancer
The King (centre) greets faith leaders from across the UK inside the billiard room of Buckingham Palace
The made time to host today’s audience just days after his daughter-in-law’s announcement gripped public interest all over the world
King Charles, who has long sought to maintain positive relationships with different faith leaders, participated fully in today’s discussion
The King, sat between Windsor leadership trustee Vijaya Nath and Prince’s Trust chief executive Martina Milburn, appeared thoughtful at other times during today’s audience
Kate bravely shared her health status with the world in an unprecedented video address.
Sharing Charles’ reaction to the shocking news, Buckingham Palace said: ‘His Majesty is ”so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did”.
‘Following their time in hospital together, HM has ”remained in the closest contact with his beloved daughter-in-law throughout the past weeks”.
‘Both Their Majesties ”will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time”.’
After she revealed the diagnosis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished her a ‘full and speedy recovery’.
He said: ‘My thoughts are with the Princess of Wales, Prince of Wales, the Royal Family and in particular her three children at this difficult time.
‘The Princess of Wales has the love and support of the whole country as she continues her recovery.’
The NHS and charity websites have reportedly been inundated with queries about cancer since the Princess revealed her diagnosis.
There has been almost a five-fold rise in visits to the NHS online cancer pages since the news broke, while Cancer Research UK and Macmillan have also reported a surge in clicks.
On Sunday, Sarah, Duchess of York praised Kate’s decision to speak out about her cancer diagnosis – and way it will raise public awareness.
The duchess, who has herself battled breast and skin cancer, said she believes her fellow royal’s openness will help to raise public awareness. ‘All my thoughts and prayers are with the Princess of Wales as she starts her treatment,’ she posted on social media.
‘I know she will be surrounded by the love of her family and everyone is praying for the best outcome.
A source said it had been ‘an incredibly tough couple of months for the entire family’ and it had been important for the princess to come to terms with her diagnosis, to recover from her surgery and begin her pathway to recovery.
The Mail understands that Prince William will carry out engagements when the children return to school after the Easter holidays.
HM King Charles III managed to smile at the public as he left Windsor Castle this morning and headed to Clarence House
The King is continuing his battle with cancer as his ‘beloved daughter-in-law’ the Princess of Wales revealed she is also fighting the disease
Kate was previously seen with her family attending church at Sandringham last Christmas Day
Throughout this period the couple’s children have been her priority.
It is understood that William and Kate wanted to tell their children at a time that was right for them and to allow them to understand and process the news before it became public.
With the children having broken up from Lambrook School today for the Easter holidays this afternoon, they decided that now was the right time to share the statement.
Sources say their concern recently, despite global and social media speculation, was to put Catherine’s health and their children first.
It is now hoped, aides said, the speculation around the princess would come to a stop.
Throughout it all Prince William has masked his personal pain and put on a brave face during royal duties.
In February, he spoke to Holocaust survivor Renee Salt at the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in central London where he took part in discussions about the rise in anti-Semitism in Britain.
It was his first public appearance after pulling out of the memorial service for his godfather, the late King Constantine II of Greece, which was reportedly when he found out about his wife’s diagnosis.
Then, just three days before Kate’s emotional video announcement, William attended a conference to help end homelessness in the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield.
In February, Prince William spoke to Holocaust survivor Renee Salt at the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in central London
During his visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue, William was seen holding Ms Salt’s hand, as the 95-year-old said to him: ‘I’m sorry, I’m sure that if your wife would’ve been well, she would’ve been here. I miss her so much. Give her my best wishes, please.’
She spoke of her experiences at a Nazi concentration camp, prompting William to ask: ‘How did you manage?’
She replied: ‘It wasn’t easy. Somehow I survived.’ William held her hand when she described how her family were affected by the rise in antisemitism in recent months.
William told her: ‘I’m so sorry it’s got to this stage, it will get better.’
He added: ‘We were going to come closer to the Holocaust memorial day but unfortunately we had to move it but glad to be able to meet today.’
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, gave William a bouquet of flowers for Kate as they stood with Rabbi Daniel Epstein, who has headed up the Marble Arch synagogue since 2021 with his wife Illana.
Three days before Kate’s emotional video announcement, William also attended a conference to help end homelessness in the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield.
Three days before Kate’s emotional video announcement William attended a conference to help end homelessness in the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield
When the topic of childhood was raised by Sheffield City Council chief executive Kate Josephs, William immediately remarked about the success of Kate’s early years projects.
Holding his palms out and smiling, he said: ‘Venturing into my wife’s territory here. She needs to be sat here to hear this.’
The sweet remark was touching at the time but even more so now that we know why Kate was unable to attend.
Returning to duties for the first time after his wife’s abdominal surgery and his father’s cancer diagnosis the Prince of Wales hosted a gala dinner for the Air Ambulance service and gave a speech.
Despite everything going on in his personal life he still managed to crack a joke, he said: ‘I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all.
‘It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather “medical” focus. So I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all!’
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