Cancer has been a rare illness in Royal Family – as the nation prays that King Charles will follow in his parents’ footsteps after the shocking news that he has cancer

His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, lived to the age of 96, and his father, Prince Philip, died just two months shy of his 100th birthday.

So the nation will be praying that 75-year-old King Charles – known for his healthy lifestyle – will follow in their footsteps following the shocking news that he has cancer.

According to each of their death certificates, the cause of death in both of his parents’ cases was “old age.” This is only used when there is a general decline in health, but no other identifiable cause of death.

Cancer is rare among the monarchs who immediately preceded Charles in the 20th century, only one of whom died before the age of 60.

His grandfather George VI was a heavy smoker at a time when its lethality was not yet widely known.

He died suddenly in his sleep, aged 56 – 72 years ago today, on February 6, 1952 – of a coronary thrombosis, or a blood clot in the blood vessels or arteries of the heart. Five months earlier he had undergone surgery to remove his left lung.

Officials said the injuries were “structural abnormalities,” but it was later determined he had lung cancer.

Edward VIII, whose abdication to marry the divorced Wallis Simpson had led to his brother becoming king in 1936, died of throat cancer at his home in Paris in 1972 at the age of 77.

Their father George V died in 1936 at the age of 70. He suffered from chronic bronchitis, aggravated by heavy smoking.