Queen Camilla made her first public outing after the news of King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis went public.
Camilla, 76, was all smiles when she stepped out in white coat to attend an event to celebrate local charities, which was held at Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England, on Thursday, February 8. The queen was photographed shaking hands with various attendees.
She was noticeably solo for the outing, which was expected as Buckingham Palace announced earlier this week that Charles, 75, would “postpone public-facing duties,” due to his recent cancer diagnosis.
“His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments,” the palace announced in a statement on Monday, February 5. “Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.”
The statement concluded: “His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
The diagnosis came one week after Charles underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate late last month. The king entered The London Clinic on January 26 and was discharged on January 29.
“Thank you to all those who have sent their good wishes during The King’s hospital stay,” the palace wrote after his procedure. “His Majesty is delighted that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness.”
Royal reporter Omid Scobie revealed that Charles’ is not suffering from “prostate cancer” on Monday, noting that “further details” of his diagnosis “won’t be shared at this stage.”
Despite the ups and downs in their father-son relationship, Prince Harry also took a trip from Los Angeles back home to his native England in the wake of his father’s diagnosis.
“We often see in families, incidents like this bridge a gap,” royal expert Gareth Russell told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, February 6. “They build a bridge [between] formally estranged members of a family. Cancer is nothing to be taken lightly and maybe it puts into perspective quarrels and fights that you’ve had before.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also offered a health update on Charles during a Tuesday appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Obviously, like everyone else, shocked and sad, and just all our thoughts are with him and his family. Thankfully, this has been caught early,” he said. Sunak added that he’s hopeful the king will “make a full recovery” after undergoing “the treatment that he needs.”
He went on to say that they plan to stay “in regular contact” with the king throughout his treatment.
“He’ll be in our thoughts and our prayers, many families around the country listening to this will have been touched by the same thing and they know what it means to everyone,” Sunak concluded. “So we’ll just be willing him on and hopefully we can get through this as quickly as possible.”
