King Charles Briefly Hospitalized After Side Effects From Cancer Treatment
King Charles III was briefly hospitalized on Thursday morning after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The palace said Charles, 76, had since returned to his London residence, Clarence House, and that his public schedule for Friday would be canceled as a precautionary measure.
The king announced he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February of last year and has been undergoing treatment since then. The palace did not specify the nature of the side effects, beyond saying they were temporary and “required a short period of observation in hospital.”
Charles has returned to an active schedule in recent months, playing host to foreign leaders like President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and visiting an aircraft carrier, the H.M.S. Prince of Wales. But the palace has offered no updates on his prognosis or the nature of his treatment. His cancer was discovered during surgery for an enlarged prostate last February; the palace has said that he does not have prostate cancer but has offered no other details about his illness.
That is in contrast to his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, who also was diagnosed with cancer last year, but announced in January that after several months of chemotherapy, that she was now cancer free.
The palace sought to play down concerns about the king’s condition, saying that his recovery continued on a positive track and that his side effects were not unusual for patients receiving medication. Palace officials said they did not expect Charles to make major changes to his schedule, which has included foreign and domestic travel.
The king, for example, plans to go ahead with a state visit to Italy next month. The palace announced earlier this week that he and his wife, Queen Camilla, would not visit Pope Francis at the Vatican because Francis is still recovering from pneumonia and a severe respiratory illness, which kept him hospitalized for more than a month.
”His Majesty was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon,” the palace said in a statement. “Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion.”
“He very much hopes that they can rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible,” the statement added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
