2 min read
Queen Camilla has remained silent about husband King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis and current health status, but in a recent conversation, she got candid about what it has been like.
The royal sat down for a talk, filmed at Clarence House, to mark the 30th anniversary of U.K. cancer charity Maggie’s, whom she has been the president of since 2008.
“I remember coming to see a Maggie’s [center] just after the king being diagnosed,” Camilla told Dame Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie’s. “Nobody could say anything at the time, that was quite difficult.”
Camilla visited Maggie’s Royal Free to officially open the new cancer support center at the Royal Free Hospital in London in January 2024, after Charles had just undergone surgery and learned about his cancer diagnosis. But at the time, the family had not yet revealed the news to the public. “I was just longing to let it out, but obviously I couldn’t,” Camilla told Lee.
The queen consort admitted that her relationship to the organization has changed greatly since Charles’s diagnosis. (Princess Catherine was also diagnosed with cancer at around the time Charles was, and is now thankfully in remission.) “It made me realize even more how important these places were,” Camilla said. “It had never really come back to roost at home, and suddenly your husband is diagnosed, and you think, goodness, and I’ve been talking to all these people, and now I’m the one with some relation who’s got to help look after my poor husband and try to understand it all.”
On February 5, 2024, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles had been diagnosed with “a form of cancer” and would be undergoing outpatient treatment. Today, he is still recovering from the condition, but is in good spirits and carrying on with his work and daily life.
“Look at my husband. Nothing stopped him. He just said, ‘This is my way. I’m going to cope with it,’” Camilla said.
Charles’s treatment has been reduced this year, as a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement in December 2025: “His Majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment, and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase. This position will be continuously monitored and reviewed to protect and prioritize his continued recovery.”