King Charles has been advised to scale back his royal duties following a brief hospitalisation due to temporary side effects from his cancer treatment. While Buckingham Palace downplayed the incident as a mere “bump in the road,” it still led the 76-year-old monarch to cancel his scheduled engagements the following day, reported the New York Post.
Despite concerns over his health, the King remains committed to his responsibilities. Royal experts suggest that his relentless work ethic makes it difficult for him to step back, even temporarily.
“The trouble is, he’s been so conditioned to work that I don’t think he functions unless he’s working,” royal author Ingrid Seward told Newsweek. “When he’s not working, he’s probably a bit all over the place, I know I’m like that. He’s always working and it’s just not his nature to take an afternoon nap, which I’m sure Camilla is trying to make him do.”
Seward, author of ‘My Mother and I’, suggested that King Charles could maintain a lighter schedule by focusing on engagements he enjoys while delegating routine and less stimulating duties to others.
“Cancer treatment makes you very, very tired,” she said. “The trouble is it’s his duty as monarch to do these stifling boring handshakes with incoming and outgoing ambassadors”.
However, King Charles appears determined to press on. On Tuesday, he made his first public appearance since his hospitalisation, attending an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. According to the New York Post, he was in good spirits, signalling that his health is improving.
Looking ahead, the King’s schedule includes attending celebrations for Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary of independence and an event honouring an aviation charity. He is also expected to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
To accommodate his health, King Charles and his medical team are carefully planning his upcoming visit to Italy, where he and Queen Camilla are set to mark their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9.
The couple was initially scheduled to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican, but the meeting was postponed following the pontiff’s recent hospitalisation.
While concerns remain about the monarch’s well-being, his determination to continue his duties underscores his commitment to the crown. Royal watchers will be keeping a close eye on how he balances his responsibilities with his ongoing treatment.
