King Charles’s health battles are ‘heading in a very positive trajectory’ as he prepares to begin third year as head of state

The King’s health has been improving since he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, a royal source said.

The update comes as King Charles, 75, prepares to celebrate the second anniversary of his accession to the throne on Sunday.

The King had a difficult second year as monarch, during which he and his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, had to deal with cancer.

But the source said King Charles has entered the past year with a “determination to be as public as possible” to reassure the nation about his capabilities.

The King and Queen are preparing for a major trip to Australia and Samoa in the autumn, their first major foreign trip since news of Charles’ cancer broke.

“Health must remain the number one priority, although the development is positive,” the source said.

Camilla gave an insight into the King’s treatment this week as she opened a new cancer centre in Bath, revealing that he was ‘doing very well’.

There will be some free time in Australia and Samoa, with not too many back-to-back meetings to take into account the time difference, and a hoped-for trip to New Zealand has been cancelled to reduce travel costs, but Charles’s schedule is still expected to be ‘quite full’.

The king has been supported this year by Queen Camilla.

“Her natural warmth, resilience and sense of humor are, as I’m sure any patient will tell you, wonderful to have,” the source said.

‘Of course it was a stressful year for Her Majesty too, but there was never any despondency. There was just a determination that they would get through this, as they had done with so many other difficult issues in the past.’

The king was absent from public view for about three months after he was diagnosed with cancer in January after being treated for an enlarged prostate.

In April he returned to work and visited a cancer centre in London, where he met other patients.

The King’s aides took the opportunity to point out that not all recovery programs for cancer patients are the same.

In the months that followed he had a number of high-profile meetings, including the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth and Normandy, Trooping the Colour, the forthcoming Japanese state visit, a brief visit to Jersey and Guernsey, the appointment of a new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide general election and the official opening of Parliament.

“The best way to see how the king is dealing with this is through his actions and his words – everything you’ve seen, everything he’s said and everything he’s done,” the source said.

‘From the outset of the health challenge, the King’s determination was to be as public as possible so that people could be reassured about how much he could still do under the circumstances, on the advice of his doctors.

‘That has of course slowly increased as the treatment and recovery programme progressed, resulting in the King leaving in a few weeks on a 19,000 kilometre journey to Australia and Samoa.’

In the third year of his reign, he will continue his so-called ‘4Cs’ – his guiding principles of ‘culture, Commonwealth, community and climate’ – with an additional side theme: ‘cancer’.

The King would be greatly encouraged by the way his personal health has led to greater discussion and engagement around the issues of all forms of cancer, such as the increase in prostate cancer screening following his operation earlier this year.

He hopes to show how people with cancer, if the disease is good for them, can continue their normal lives as much as possible.

King Charles became head of state immediately after the death of his mother, the country’s longest-reigning monarch. She died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96.

He is expected to attend church and spend time in personal prayer and reflection on the birthday, which falls during his summer vacation at his estate in Aberdeenshire in the Scottish Highlands.

The source: ‘There will be personal thoughts, prayers and reflections.

“I’m sure it will be a very moving day for everyone. How could it not be, especially given the challenging year the whole family has had?”

Saturday sees the annual Braemar Gathering, with the royals typically having a front row seat to watch the traditional Highland games, a short drive from Balmoral.

The King was enjoying his summer holiday and looked happy and relaxed as he visited the Aberdeen Flower Show last Saturday.

Normally, a gun salute is fired on Accession Day, but because the anniversary falls on a Sunday this year, when there are normally no gun salutes, the military salutes by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park and The Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London have been moved to Monday.

Both participating regiments were responsible for firing the Death Gun salute in memory of the death of Queen Elizabeth II two years ago. Almost all participating soldiers and horses played a role in the Queen’s state funeral and the King’s proclamation.