Timeline: King Charles set to resume duties after cancer treatment

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles will return to public duties on April 30 following nearly three months of treatment for cancer, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

The positive news about the king’s health comes after a tough start to 2024 for the royal family. Six weeks after the king’s cancer diagnosis was revealed in February, his daughter-in-law Kate said she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.

Below is a timeline of recent events involving Britain’s royal family, including the king’s cancer diagnosis:

JAN. 17

Kensington Palace says Kate, the Princess of Wales, has undergone successful abdominal surgery. On the same day Buckingham Palace says King Charles, 75, will undergo treatment for an enlarged prostate.

JAN. 18

Prince William, the king’s eldest son and heir to the throne, is pictured visiting his wife Kate, 42, at the private London Clinic.

JAN. 22

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and the ex-wife of Charles’ brother Prince Andrew, says she been diagnosed with a malignant form of skin cancer – her second cancer diagnosis in a year.

JAN. 26

Charles undergoes planned treatment to address an enlarged prostate. The king is admitted to the same hospital where Kate is still recovering from her surgery.

JAN. 29

Both Charles and Kate return home from hospital.

FEB. 5

Buckingham Palace says Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and will postpone public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment.

FEB. 6

Charles is seen in public for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. The king and his wife Queen Camilla take a helicopter to his Sandringham estate in rural eastern England.

FEB. 7

William thanks the public for their messages of support for his wife and for his father.

FEB. 21

Charles meets Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a weekly private audience. Charles says he has been reduced to tears by the messages of goodwill.

MARCH 10

Several news agencies including Getty, Reuters, Associated Press and AFP withdraw a photograph of Kate and her children issued by Kensington Palace after analysis showed it did not meet their editorial standards.

The photograph was released alongside a message from Kate thanking the public for their support in her first public message since undergoing surgery.

It causes intense speculation about Kate on social media.

MARCH 11

Kate issues an apology for “any confusion” caused by the edited photograph, saying “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing”.

Charles misses an event to mark 75th anniversary of the Commonwealth Day as he continued to undergo cancer treatment.

MARCH 22

Kate says tests following the abdominal surgery she had in January found cancer had been present and she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy.

MARCH 31

Charles greets well-wishers in Windsor after attending an Easter church service, in his first appearance at a public royal event since his diagnosis was announced in February.

APRIL 26

Buckingham Palace announces that Charles will return to public duties on April 30 when he will visit a cancer treatment centre.

(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman and Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James, William Schomberg and Gareth Jones)