British King Charles III has cancer, Buckingham Palace reports Monday evening on X. The palace has not announced what form of cancer the 75-year-old monarch is suffering from. Charles has been receiving treatment since Monday.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles “is completely optimistic about his treatment and looks forward to returning to his responsibilities as monarch as soon as possible.” Other members of the royal family will take over his public duties until then. In the meantime, he will continue to fulfill his constitutional duties.
Last week the king visited a private clinic in London to have a prostate examination carried out. Since then he has been treated for an enlarged prostate. The cancer was discovered during treatment, but it is not prostate cancer.
Charles became king at the age of 73 in September 2022 when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died. She was queen for 70 years. Charles is the oldest monarch to ever take office in the United Kingdom, and the longest-serving Crown Prince in British history.