Buckingham Palace has confirmed the news that King Charles will be taking a temporary break from duties, due to medical issues.
The 76-year-old monarch had been undergoing scheduled treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. However, after experiencing "side effects" on Thursday morning, the King was briefly hospitalised for "a short period of observation". And following his release from hospital later that day, the monarch will now be taking a short break from duties.
"Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital," Buckingham Palace announced in a statement on Thursday evening. "His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed."
The statement continued: "His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled. His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result."
"His majesty was due to receive credentials from the ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson added.
"Tomorrow he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham, and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion.
"He very much hopes that they can [be] rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible."
King Charles' cancer diagnosis was revealed by Buckingham Palace in February 2024, with the monarch choosing to share his diagnosis "in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”
The statement also went on to express the King's gratitude to his medical team "for their swift intervention", adding that King Charles "remains wholly positive about his treatment".
We will continue to update this story.
