King Charles Pausing Cancer Treatment
King Charles is pausing his cancer treatment as he and Camilla Parker Bowles head to Australia for an 11-day tour. The monarch has received weekly treatments for the disease for the better part of a year. How will Charles maintain his busy schedule without medical intervention for his health challenges?
King Charles’ doctors putting cancer treatment on hold
Camilla Parker Bowles and King Charles will undertake their first long-haul trip since his cancer diagnosis. The couple’s official visit begins Oct. 18, when they will head to Sydney and Canberra. Charles and Camilla will make a state visit to Samoa in the South Pacific, where the monarch will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
During this visit, Charles’ cancer treatment will be on hold (per The Daily Mail). His doctors are confident that as long as he has treatment right up until the trip, Charles should be well enough to endure this large-scale official visit. He will reportedly then resume regular doctor’s care upon his return to the United Kingdom.
Charles’ doctors have reportedly signed off on the king’s schedule. While it is filled with many engagements, there is also time built into the itinerary for the 75-year-old monarch to rest. Chares will also have a traveling doctor, as per royal protocol, during this official visit.
King Charles’ Australia visit is his first since becoming king
King Charles’ Australia visit is his first since becoming king in September 2022. It is also the first time a British male head of state has visited the country after Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign.
This visit is also the first by a reigning monarch in 13 years. Australia is one of the 14 countries outside the United Kingdom where the monarch is head of state and Charles’ visit is an attempt to bolster relations. Charles is reportedly trying to ensure his reign and the reigns of his descendants remain vital in the country.
Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ royal tour includes a visit to Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian War Memorial, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Memorial. While this is his first visit as king, Charles has visited the country many times.
Australia reportedly holds a special place in Charles’ heart
King Charles has visited Australia on 16 occasions in his lifetime. According to a press release by the Australian government, Charles first visited in 1966 as an exchange student at Timbertop, Geelong Grammar School in Victoria.
However, he didn’t visit the country in an official capacity until one year later, when he represented the crown at a memorial service for Prime Minister Harold Holt. Charles also visited Australia in 1970, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2005, 2012, 2015 and 2018.
Royal watchers recall one of the most memorable moments of Charles’ Australia visits was shared with his late ex-wife, Princess Diana in 1983, their first overseas tour as a married couple. At the time, interest surrounding Diana was at a fever pitch.
It was also the first time a royal baby accompanied their parents on an overseas tour. Diana didn’t want to be separated from Prince William for the month-long trip.
However, while it has been documented that the couple grew closer during the visit in an attempt to fix their ongoing marital problems, Charles was still dismayed by how Diana’s popularity eclipsed his own. This issue, among others, would dominate their marriage until they divorced in 1996.
