The queen has spoken for the first time about how hard it was to keep King Charles’s cancer diagnosis private before it was announced to the public. In a short film released on Wednesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the cancer charity Maggie’s, Camilla described feeling a strong urge to share the news during a visit to one of the charity’s support centres in 2024, after the king had been diagnosed but before the palace made any public statement.
Speaking to Maggie’s chief executive, Dame Laura Lee, in a conversation filmed at Clarence House, Camilla recalled launching a new centre at the Royal Free hospital in London on 31 January 2024. At that time, Charles was recovering from treatment for an enlarged prostate, but, as the film reveals, he had already been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. Buckingham Palace announced the diagnosis five days later, on 5 February.
“I remember coming to see a Maggie’s just after the king being diagnosed. Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult,” Camilla said. She added that she “almost said something” while talking to visitors at the centre, but felt it was not the right moment. “I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t,” she told Lee.
Camilla described how the experience deepened her appreciation for the charity’s work. “I looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were,” she said. She also spoke about how the diagnosis affected her personally, noting that she had long spoken to people affected by cancer, but now it had “come back to roost at home” with her husband’s illness.
Charles returned to public-facing engagements in April 2024, less than three months after treatment began. Camilla said of his attitude: “Look at my husband. Nothing stopped him. He just said, ‘This is my way. I’m going to cope with it.’”
Maggie’s provides free emotional and practical support to cancer patients and their loved ones at 27 drop-in centres located near NHS hospitals across the UK. Camilla released the seven-minute film to highlight the support the charity offers, and she called on every hospital to have a Maggie’s centre.