London: He waited longer than any heir in British history for his moment in the sun, and now Charles, at 75, is being confronted by his mortality.
When he acceded the throne 17 months ago, the King pledged to dedicate the remainder of his life to the service of his people. After 70 years as the next in line, the diagnosis of an unspecified cancer means he must, for now, step back.
Prince William, the King and Prince Harry.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
The news was a complete shock. His trip to hospital last week, we were assured, was routine treatment for a benign condition. It was during the procedure, however, that something worse was discovered.
Planned foreign visits – including to Australia and Canada this year – could be postponed, and the King’s appearance at the Commonwealth heads-of-government meeting in Samoa in October is no longer guaranteed.
While the message from Buckingham Palace was clear and reassuring: the King is still in charge despite his ongoing treatment, his public absence arrives with ill timing in an election year and at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty.
Step forward William, the Prince of Wales, who until hours before the news of the King’s condition was announced, was expected to remain by his ill wife’s side as continued her recovery from abdominal surgery.
Britain’s King Charles III and Prince William attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London last November. Credit: AP
The surprise announcement he would take part in two official engagements this week - earlier than expected - now makes sense. The 41-year-old prince - now routinely the most popular royal in opinion polls - will attempt to create the impression of seamless continuity while clearly being shocked and concerned with his own’s fathers wellbeing.
Until recently the King appeared to have enviable health for a man of his age. With a famously healthy diet and exercise routine, he is already the oldest living king in British history.
Despite inheriting the longevity genes from parents Elizabeth II and Prince Philip - and his grandmother, the Queen Mother who made it to 101, Charles still regularly skips lunch, strictly favours organic produce and undertakes his Royal Air Force training of twice-daily sit-ups, push-ups and spread eagle jumps.
His only real health worry, until last month, was his swollen “sausage fingers”, which he joked about at his coronation and previous injuries when falling off polo and hunting horses in his 30s and 40s.
It is, perhaps, important to remind ourselves that the long reign of his mother was a historical anomaly. And that long periods of stability are the exception rather than the rule. And, after all, the royal institution has 1000 years of experience in dealing with situations such as this.
There are counsellors of state, who have been appointed by statute since 1937, for this very reason, although he has been assured they are not needed, for now.
Should they be, William, the Prince of Wales, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne are just three of the seven family members who can discharge the functions of the monarch should they be temporarily indisposed. Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice can step up legally too. It’s unlikely the other pairing of Prince Harry and Prince Andrew would get the nod.
If they were required then the King would issue letters patent to delegate powers to the counsellors. These would most likely state a period in which they would take charge and have been used many times when monarchs have gone away on foreign trips.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Palace of Westminster for the state opening of the British parliament in November.Credit: Getty Images
A monarch being indisposed is not a new territory in the history of Britain or the Commonwealth. Charles was able to step up when his mother was too ill to open parliament two years ago.
When his grandfather, George VI, was bedridden with lung cancer in 1951, the Lord Chancellor opened parliament on his behalf. George IV was 48 when he became Regent in 1811, as a result of the illness of his father, George III.
In short, there is a set of mechanisms to temporarily relieve the monarch of their duties if needed.
The return of Harry, the exiled prince, will create predictably breathless headlines, but it is a reminder that most family disputes can be put aside when trumped by more important events. The strained relations between the king, the heir and the spare have been well-documented
Perhaps, as Harry was preparing to board a plane in California, he was remembering his father’s words.
“Please, boys … don’t make my final years a misery”, he was said to have told his sons, according to Harry’s incendiary memoir, Spare. His wife Meghan is expected to remain in the US with the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet. Perhaps a sign the King’s condition is not grave.
Medical commentators were quick to point out that at the age of 75, Charles is entering the years when people are most likely to be diagnosed with cancer. More than a third of new cases in the UK every year are found in people aged 75 and over. The highest rates are in the 85-89 age group.
The Very Reverend Dr Lorna Hood, an Extra Chaplain to the King in Scotland, said on Monday evening, that the announcement had shown the “humanity” that’s in the monarch. “He’s our King, he’s a human being and these things hit us,” she told Times Radio. “Just as we’ve been saying that COVID didn’t have any borders, so cancer hits all people in all sorts of situations and all sorts of ways.”
We are told the King learned of his condition last week. Details have not been divulged but diagnosis of forms of the disease can involve blood tests, scans and biopsies.
While surgery is usually the first treatment to try for most types of cancer, the palace statement said the King had commenced “a schedule of regular treatments”, suggesting another type of cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy.
There is a risk that by choosing to be open one minute and not the next the palace might stoke the flames of speculation - something it said it was keen to avoid. But the King is within his rights, after all, to keep specific details private.
And at moments like these, we should remind ourselves - the crown always outlasts a monarch.
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