King Charles III's cancer treatment is “moving in a positive direction,” a Buckingham Palace source told NBC News on Friday, almost a year after he was diagnosed with the disease.
The source emphasized that while progress has been made, his cancer remains in a “managed condition,” meaning that his “treatment cycle will continue into next year.”
Charles was just 18 months into his reign when Buckingham Palace confirmed his cancer diagnosis in February. The statement explained that the 76-year-old chose to share his health status partly “in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
Further details of his condition have not been disclosed.
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He resumed public duties as king in April after making progress in his treatment.
Charles was the United Kingdom’s longest-serving heir to the throne during his time as Prince of Wales. He became king Sept. 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In January, Kate, the Princess of Wales, was hospitalized for almost two weeks to undergo abdominal surgery for unspecified reasons. While initial tests did not indicate cancer, further testing revealed “cancer had been present,” she said in a taped video statement.
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The rare video statement marked the first public acknowledgment of her health struggles, breaking her silence as widespread speculation mounted.
Prince William said 2024 has been “brutal” as his wife and his father both announced their cancer diagnoses.
“It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life,” William told NBC News’ international partner, Sky News, last month.
In September, Kate said she had completed chemotherapy treatment and would return to a light schedule of public engagements through the rest of the year.
Charles wife, Queen Camilla, 77, missed last month’s Remembrance events because of a chest infection, adding to the uncertainty about the health of the royal family.
Charles and Camilla will carry out their last major public engagement before Christmas, meeting local community volunteers, young people, emergency services and faith representatives in Waltham Forest, in East London, on Friday.
They will then travel to Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on England's eastern coast, where they are set to host Christmas.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, did not join the extended family Thursday at a pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace but are expected to attend the Christmas celebrations in Norfolk.
Prince Andrew was also missing from the festivities Thursday. His ex-wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, persuaded him that “now isn’t the right time to appear alongside the rest of his family,” Emily Nash, royal editor at Hello magazine told NBC News in an interview Thursday.
Andrew, Charles' scandal-hit younger brother, was in the headlines once again this week after a high court ruling said he had cultivated an “unusual degree of trust” with a man alleged to be a Chinese spy. Andrew’s office said in a statement that he “ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.”
Andrew returned his military affiliations and royal patronages in January 2022 after his lawyers failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse. He later paid a substantial sum to Virginia Giuffre, who alleges Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17.
Giuffre has long alleged she was forced in the 1990s to have sex with Andrew after notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his confidant, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, trafficked her to him. Maxwell, 62, was jailed for 20 years after a jury concluded that she played a pivotal part in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Nash said Andrew has “lost any sort of public life and work, and now he’s having to absent himself from private family gatherings.”
“He is in the eye of the storm at the moment, but it’s not impossible that he might join family gatherings in future,” she added.
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