Royal family
King Charles’ recovery is something Prince William fears his father may be pushing aside as the leader of the British royal family gets back to public appearances.
King Charles III is back to work, public appearances and all. But that hasn’t stopped Prince William from worrying about his father. The Prince of Wales, 41, is reportedly concerned his “workaholic” dad will overexert himself after 11 weeks out of the public spotlight for cancer treatment.
William is worried as King Charles gets back to work
According to The Sunday Times, while King Charles couldn’t wait to return to work, William’s been worried his dad would do too much too soon.
“He wants to make sure his father is balancing his recovery,” a friend of William’s told the publication. “He knows his dad loves work, but he does worry about him.”
Another source claimed King Charles didn’t do very well with a light schedule, describing him as a “caged lion” eager to leave palace walls.
An insider said, “He holds himself to very high standards of public service.” The 75-year-old monarch “genuinely feels he’s letting people and organizations down if he’s not out there doing all those public bits of his formal role.”
Buckingham Palace announced the king’s cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5, 2024, on the heels of his hospitalization for an enlarged prostate. A month later, William’s wife, Kate Middleton, announced she, too, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. (She’s on a break from royal duties while undergoing preventative chemotherapy.)
The king has ‘downtime’ on his schedule to prevent public appearances from being ‘too draining’
What likely comes as a relief to William is that his father is taking time to rest when he’s not making public appearances. An aide told the outlet King Charles’ schedule is being “carefully calibrated with enough downtime so that it is not too draining.”
Meanwhile, the king’s cancer treatment hasn’t stopped. He’s still being treated for cancer after announcing his diagnosis and starting treatment the same day.
None of it has stopped King Charles from having goals. One of them, perhaps even the most ambitious, is he wants to ride horseback at his annual birthday parade. (It’s expected to happen only under the supervision of doctors and with their permission.)
King Charles remains focused on work
“Workaholic” is a word often used to describe the monarch and that hasn’t changed since his cancer diagnosis. (In the past, William has admitted to sometimes getting frustrated by his dad’s long hours.)
Now it seems the work won’t slow down as King Charles is back to public duties. “Some people might think he is trying to pedal twice as hard because he is conscious that time is running ahead of him,” an insider said. “But he’s like that anyway.”
“His downtime away from public life has been used productively.” It’s been “enabling him to keep thinking about the things he wants to get on with.”
Move on with things indeed. King Charles’ summer calendar is packed with all sorts of events. There’s a potential visit to Normandy, Trooping the Colour, Garter Day, Royal Ascot, garden parties, a Japanese state dinner, and, of course, the royal family’s annual retreat to Scotland.
