Former Aide Says King Charles Faced a 'Cancer Scare' Years Ago: Report

Mar. 15, 2025

Before Buckingham Palace announced thatKing Charleswasdiagnosed with cancerin February 2024, he previously had a “cancer scare,” a royal biography claims.

On Nov. 3, theMail on Sundaypublished an excerpt of an updated edition ofCharles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, out Nov. 7. In it, author Robert Hardman makes the allegation in a passage about the King’s health crisis this year.

The palace generally refrains from commenting on books written about members of the royal family.

King Charles was the Prince of Wales for 64 years, from 1958 until 2022, when the death of his mother,Queen Elizabeth, prompted his accession at age 73.

In the updated version ofCharles III, Hardman writes that Buckingham Palace’s Jan. 17 announcement about the King’s treatment for abenign enlarged prostatewas historic in that “No previous bulletin on the health of a sovereign had ever been quite so frank.” It was announced on Feb. 5 that the King, 75, was diagnosed with cancer; a spokesmanclarifiedhe does not have prostate cancer.

Though the palace maintained a tight-lipped approach to medical information throughout Queen Elizabeth’s record-breaking reign, Hardman writes that there was “very little internal debate” about announcing that the King had cancer.

“After the earlier announcement about his prostate, it was actually an easy decision to say, ‘Well, that’s what we do these days,’ " Hardman quotes a member of the King’s staff as saying in the updated edition ofCharles III. “‘We didn’t hang about because we all felt that the country does have a right to know about this — though not in forensic detail.’ "

Hardman writes that the staffer said. “‘When you know the King has got cancer, every cancer sufferer could feel connected to him.’ "

The February announcement about the King’s cancer diagnosis directly said that he shared the news about his health, in part, to raise awareness and bolster anyone affected.

Pan Macmillan

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The palace said then that the King’s treatmentwas ongoing, and Tom Parker Bowles recently told PEOPLE that his stepfather was “strong.”

“The King is strong,” said Parker Bowles, who isQueen Camilla’s son from her first marriage. “He is doing what he can. He’s following the advice of his doctors. Fingers crossed, touch wood.”

source: people.com