‘No denying’: Major King Charles cancer update slips out
King Charles has just made a massive and sad admission, just as the very first details about his cancer treatment slip out.
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Ah, the clichéd sound of cowbells clanking. The smell of crisp, clean snow. And the whirr of 99 enormous artillery-sized camera lenses trained on a few people posing with skis slightly stiffly.
This used to be an annual royal tradition, the migration of the younger generations of the House Windsor to the powdery peaks of the Swiss alps for plenty of pre and post-pisteing and whipping about in DayGlo 80s onesies.
At some point, a certain arrangement between Buckingham Palace and Fleet Street was reached – during these trips, the HRHs would do that awkward photo call and the press would then refrain from chasing them up and down chairlifts in pursuit of front pages and low level frostbite.
So here’s today’s bad news – never more.
This scene won’t play out again.
King Charles has revealed he has made a major and sad decision. He is walking away from one of his lifelong loves, skiing. No more press calls.
This came as the Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes offered the first indication of what sort of treatment the King might actually be undergoing, the Palace never having revealed any specifics.
According to Sykes, “there is no denying the plain fact that he is still having weekly radiotherapy”.
Capping things off is that, earlier this month, the King hosted a dinner at his Highgrove Estate, where, despite an ebullient turn, his advancing years seemed self-evident.
But let’s talk about the skiing bit and what that means.
This important update in the annals of royal hobbying was revealed when His Majesty was making small talk with the Swiss employee of a wind turbine factory during an official engagement.
Speaking to Avzi Jusufi, a machinery expert from Basel, the 76-year-old said: “I think my skiing days are behind me”.
How mournful a lowing sound can a cowbell make, I ask you?
I know, in the scheme of things, this is hardly breaking-into-regular-programming emergency news, but it feels a bit like the thin end of the wedge.
With the first of Charles’ enduring pastimes having now fallen foul of the march of time, what might be next?
It is now more than 12 months since not only His Majesty but Kate, The Princess of Wales were diagnosed with cancer and as signposts go, this skiing call is a bit of a melancholy one, a confirmation that even though His Majesty continues to plug on with his workload, reality and the cold vagaries of life are catching up with him.
What lies ahead for Charles in 2025 are question marks and maybes and a stream of ‘possibles’ from Palace sources.
The King and Queen Camilla could be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9 in Italy, with the Palace having confirmed Their Majesties are set to undertake a State Visit around then.
On the mooted cards – a visit with Il Papa (though he’s currently battling double pneumonia) and a nice peaceful wander around the Sistine Chapel, the benefit of being royalty that they will be able to do so unmolested by vast, gawping tour groups from Tallahassee.
However, the King could face bigger – and far more diplomatically demanding – challenges too.
Challenges like finding out how to get Tangerine Dream For Men foundation out of the Clarence House chintz with a historic possible second State visit from Donald Trump being speculated about. (No elected head of state has ever been bestowed with this honour before – only two monarchs, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Olav of Norway).
According to the Times, there have been “discussions” about offering Mr Trump a second go around in London as part of a trans-Atlantic gladhanding and attempted reheating of relations between London and Washington.
There are also reports of a possible Washington visit by “high-ranking members of the King’s family”, most likely around July 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence. (Who else but the British would happily go along to a big showy event celebrating their brutal dumping?)
The King is also, per the Times, “primed to receive other world leaders on inbound state visits over the next 12 months”.
Yet there is an unspoken ‘but’ in all of this – his health.
A friend of Charles and Camilla’s has told the Beast’s Sykes that any US “plans remain entirely contingent on his ongoing cancer treatment”. (There is also the Queen’s health, with her having battled an “extremely nasty bout” of pneumonia after touring Australia and the South Pacific late last year).
However, Their Majesties’ health woes come at a time when the soft power of the monarchy could never be more fundamental to helping Britain out, with not only the King but Prince William also being called up to help do their bit to keep the special relationship alive and kicking – at least, ish. (There seems to be little love lost between Mr Trump and the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, a world leader unlikely to have demanded chicken nuggets in the middle of a high-level security briefing).
In December last year, Prince William and Mr Trump met privately for 45 minutes after both attended the reopening of Notre Dame, with the president coming away enthusing about the heir to the throne so eagerly you would have thought he was a parcel of undeveloped New Jersey waterfront land.
Still, here’s a nice bit of good news in all this, a reminder that the King is trucking on and squeezing in joy where he can.
The Beast has also reported that King Charles recently enjoyed a private trip to the Royal Ballet, later spending 30 minutes chatting to the cast and crew. Someone who spent time with Charles there told the Beast, “He seemed to be in perfect health”.
Maybe that throw pillow Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex sent him about choosing happiness is working?
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles
Originally published as ‘No denying’: Major King Charles cancer update slips out
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