Queen Camilla admits: "I almost revealed King Charles's illness"
Queen Camilla has opened up about the immense difficulty of keeping King Charles III's cancer diagnosis a secret. In an interview for a film marking the 30th anniversary of a cancer support organization, she admitted that she nearly broke her silence during a visit to a support center shortly after the diagnosis was confirmed.
Queen Camilla has revealed the great difficulty she experienced in keeping the secret of her husband, King Charles III's cancer diagnosis. According to her, days before the news was officially released, she visited a center for a cancer support organization where she serves as president.
"I remember arriving just after the King was diagnosed, no one could say anything at that time. It was quite difficult," she said in an interview for a film marking the organization's 30th anniversary.
She added regarding those tense moments: "I almost said something, but I felt it wasn't the right time. I just longed to let it out, but obviously I couldn't." As mentioned, King Charles announced his diagnosis after undergoing a prostate procedure, and last December updated the public that he was responding well to treatment. Despite his illness, the 77-year-old King continued to fulfill his public duties and returned to public events in April 2024.
The Queen emphasized that her husband persisted in his royal duties despite the illness: "Nothing stopped him. He just said, 'This is my way. I will deal with it.'" As recalled, just last year he broke a long-standing tradition of the British Royal Family through a pre-recorded "personal message" about his cancer diagnosis and recovery journey. This dramatic step, considered a significant breach of the medical privacy policy of heads of state, was intended to raise critical awareness of the disease.
The public disclosure stemmed from the King's personal desire to reach the widest possible audience, as the Palace explained, "to prevent speculation and in the hope that it will assist public understanding for all those around the world who have been affected by cancer." Indeed, the message achieved its primary goal: the King's decision to speak about the personal matter sparked a huge increase in public searches for information about cancer on National Health Service (NHS) and charity websites, according to the "Daily Mail."
As recalled, the King was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024, a few days after being hospitalized for a routine surgery due to a benign prostate enlargement. Even then, Buckingham Palace chose to break the screen of secrecy and share the diagnosis with the public. In March 2025, he was hospitalized briefly due to temporary side effects from treatments, which led to the temporary cancellation of royal engagements, but the Palace described it as only a "bump in the road."
