06 February 2024 , 16:40
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The King has been diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace announced on 5 February, and whilst he undergoes treatment will be pausing any "public-facing" appearances for the time being on the advice of his doctors. However, a royal expert has explained that doesn't mean Charles will entirely vanish, as there may still be a way for the monarch to make surprise appearances during this period.
The cancer was "caught early" according to Rishi Sunak, and was found whilst the King was in hospital for a separate medical issue - a benign enlarged prostate. The details of what kind of cancer Charles has have not been revealed by the palace, but it has been confirmed that it isn't prostate cancer.
The expert - Robert Hardman, commentator and author of several books about the Royal Family - said on BBC Radio 4's Today Show that any engagements that could be attended remotely by the King, likely would be, and that there was already an established pattern for the royals attending engagements virtually set up in the coronavirus pandemic, during which the late Queen and other senior royals frequently took part in virtual engagements, clips of which were often released afterward.
"I think yeah, on those things that can be Zoomed, if you like," said Hardman, the King would take part, adding: "At the time of Covid, we actually ended up seeing them, particularly hearing more of the Queen than we were used to [...] suddenly there were clips of them going out and I think we can look to more of that".
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The royal author also said that Charles' diagnosis "Slightly reminds me of the early days of Covid, when we all thought 'here is an institution that absolutely depends on public interaction,' on the old adage 'I have to be seen to be believed'. How does an institution like that cope when it's sort of as it were, kept at arm's length from the public?
"And yet it managed, it managed very well. It found new ways of operating I think that's what we are going to see now, so of course we can't see the King out and about. I think his doctors, and his family, do not want him going into rooms full of hundreds of people and germs that may or may not be there. They'll want to keep things very much hermetically sealed in a sense".
However, Hardman noted, that the pandemic had proven "that doesn't stop you doing things," and that the royals would likely find some kind of workaround to keep the monarch somewhat in public view.
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