Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about how difficult it was to keep her husband’s cancer diagnosis private in the days before Buckingham Palace announced it.
A week before the palace disclosed in February 2024 that King Charles was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, Camilla visited a Maggie’s cancer support center at a London hospital. She already knew about her husband’s diagnosis.
“I remember coming to see a Maggie's just after the king being diagnosed. Nobody could say anything at the time, that was quite difficult”, Camilla told Laura Lee, the chief executive of Maggie’s, of which the Queen is president.
Camilla said that meeting cancer patients and their relatives made keeping the secret particularly difficult.
“I almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn't the time to say, (I) looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations, and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were. I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn't.”
The remarks appear in a video released on Wednesday to mark Maggie’s 30th anniversary.
Openness Encouraged Others
Camilla also spoke about caring for the King and his determination to continue working despite his illness.
“Look at my husband, nothing stopped him”, Camilla remarked. “He just said, this is my way I'm going to cope with it.”
Charles is still receiving treatment. In December, he explained that early diagnosis and effective intervention meant his treatment could be scaled back.
According to Maggie’s, the disclosure that both Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, had undergone cancer treatment, together with their willingness to discuss the illness, had a significant impact on other patients.
Lee said the King’s openness had encouraged others to speak about their own diagnoses, while Camilla’s experience showed why relatives and friends of cancer patients also need support.
(Reuters, bak)