Charles III’s cancer announcement breaks British royal secrecy

2024-02-06 22:37:35

The announcement about Charles III’s cancer has shocked the United Kingdom. Messages of support from the highest political leaders and civil society have been repeated in the last few hours, with the aim of wishing the king a speedy recovery and a return to his public activities as soon as possible. But beyond the apparent exercise of transparency by the monarch, who chose to publicly reveal his state of health, there are still many details to be known, including what type of cancer he has, what treatment he will have and where he will receive it.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, clarified yesterday that the disease has been detected in an initial state. Something that Buckingham Palace already pointed out on Monday: “The King is grateful to his medical team for the quick intervention, which was made possible by his recent hospital admission,” explained the note sent to the media. The 75-year-old monarch spent several days in the hospital last week due to benign prostatic hypertrophy, at which time he underwent several tests that led to the diagnosis of cancer. His team confirmed, however, that his illness is not related to this procedure.

The disclosure of this information was an unusual gesture in the British royal family, usually surrounded by an even greater hermeticism regarding the health of its members. The palace attributes the publication of this data to the express request of Charles III, who has dedicated a large part of his life to supporting the fight against cancer through charitable organizations. Their goal with this announcement, they explained, is to help improve “public awareness of all those affected by cancer around the world,” as well as trying to avoid speculation about their health status.

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But despite the expressed requests to respect their privacy, speculation will continue to be inevitable, considering that there are still many unanswered questions. “We will not provide further details at this time,” Buckingham said.

Secrecy was also common in the reign of Elizabeth II, who limited herself to providing information about her health only when absolutely necessary, such as when she was forced to cancel public engagements. And even in these cases, the details of her health and that of her husband, Philip of Edinburgh, were always kept secret.