British King Charles III said his cancer treatment would soon be scaled back, attributing his improvement to “early diagnosis, effective intervention and compliance with doctors' orders.”
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testament to the remarkable progress being made in treating cancer,” Charles said in a televised address broadcast Friday in support of the charity's Stand Up to Cancer campaign.
Buckingham Palace has not said whether his cancer is in remission, but a palace spokesman said in a briefing provided to NBC News ahead of the broadcast that Charles has “responded exceptionally well” to treatment and that ongoing measures will “now enter the precautionary phase.”
“This position will be continually monitored and reviewed to protect and prioritize his continued recovery,” the spokesperson added.
King revealed his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, less than 18 months after taking the throne.
“I know from experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming,” he said in his address Friday, adding that he was “deeply touched by what I can only call the ‘community of care’ that surrounds every cancer patient.”
Charles never revealed details of his diagnosis, including the type of cancer and the stage of the disease.
The palace said he would not do so, citing “advice from cancer experts” that it was “preferable that His Majesty should not address his specific condition, but rather speak to those who suffer from all forms of the disease.”
Charles resumed some public duties two months after the diagnosis.
He spent “short period” in hospital in March due to side effects from cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said at the time, without specifying how long he was there or the nature of the treatment.
But he has made frequent public appearances this year as his treatment continued. hosts President Donald Trump during his second state visit to the UK in September.
He also undertook foreign trips to Europe, noting Holocaust Remembrance Day in Auschwitz-Birkenau in January and pray with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in October. Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022. in her last years on the throne, she avoided traveling abroad due to her advanced age and a number of health problems.
A palace spokesman said Charles “has taken great comfort and encouragement from the opportunity to continue to lead a full and active life throughout his treatment”, continuing to participate in public events and overseas tours.
Questions about the monarch's health usually top the royal news agenda, but Charles has spent the last few months fighting the social storm around his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew.
Charles stripped Andrew of his royal titles in October following new questions about his involvement with a recently convicted sex offender. Jeffrey Epstein.
