King Charles will take two doctors along with him on his upcoming trip to Australia and Samoa with wife Queen Camilla.
The King, 75, and Queen, 77, kick off their Oceania visit on Friday, Oct. 18; the royal tour will wrap up on Saturday, Oct. 26. Joining the royal entourage will be two doctors, the Times reported, as news emerged earlier this week that the King will “pause” cancer treatments while abroad.
King Charles’ Commonwealth Tour Includes Adjustments Amid Health Concerns
King Charles’ first royal tour as monarch to a Commonwealth realm will include measures to prevent him from being overworked, according to The Times. The King will be “closely monitored” during the visit, with his cancer treatment paused temporarily on the advice of doctors. Treatment is expected to resume upon his return to the U.K.
The King was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year after undergoing a procedure in January to treat a benign enlarged prostate. While Buckingham Palace confirmed the diagnosis in February, they clarified it is not prostate cancer but did not specify the type or stage.
This announcement came just weeks before Kate Middleton revealed on March 22 that she, too, had been diagnosed with cancer. After completing chemotherapy, Kate made an emotional return to public engagements in October, joining Prince William for royal duties.
In April, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles was “greatly encouraged” by the news from his doctors that he could resume public-facing duties while his treatment continued. A palace spokesman said in the spring that it was “too early to say” how long the King’s treatment would continue, but added that his doctors were “sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far.” The King officially resumed front-facing duty on April 30 by visiting the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre and has had a jam-packed diary since.
As he and Camilla prepare to undertake the two-stop royal tour next week, “I’m sure that the medical team has been consulted and will look after the King and make sure that he doesn’t overwork, as we know he has a propensity to do,” historian and author Hugo Vickers told the Times. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be undertaking the trip unless he was fit enough to do it.”
Though the trip already includes a stop in two countries, a third stop to New Zealand was planned but then cut in light of the King’s health. Speaking to the New Zealand women’s rugby team during a reception at Buckingham Palace, Charles said, “I’m extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October — it’s on doctors’ orders. But I hope there will be another excuse [to visit] before too long. In the meantime, give my love to New Zealand.”
While in Australia, “the itinerary has been designed with the King’s health in mind,” the Times reported. “The King and Queen will have a rest day, and there will be no evening engagements.”
While there, the King will meet with two pioneering medical experts in melanoma treatment, the palace said.
“The King, who has this year been receiving treatment for cancer, will meet Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer, both Australians of the Year, and will hear about the work they do to help those affected by melanoma, one of Australia’s most common cancers,” according to the palace description.
Long and Scolyer, professors at the University of Sydney and co-medical directors of the Melanoma Institute Australia, received the prize for their collaborative efforts to reduce skin cancer deaths.