It has been made clear that King Charles is carrying on with his royal responsibilities while still receiving c:an:cer treatment. Last year, it was reported that the monarch, who was diagnosed with c:an:cer a year ago, would continue his treatment into 2025.

Plans for a future state visit overseas have been announced, which may be a sign that Charles’ medical care is progressing well. Others, however, are not so sure that things will improve; according to one observer, the Palace is in for some difficult days.

The King has been through plenty in the last year, and as he ages, so to do his friends and family members. He sadly lost his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, two years ago, and in 2024, his longtime friend Ian Farquhar tragically di-ed after an ac-cid-ent in his home. Now, tragedy has struck again as King Charles grieves a person close to his heart.

Charles’ reign got off to a turbulent start. Initially, he had to focus a great deal of attention on his son, Prince Harry, and daughter-in-law Meghan Markle, following all the accusations and claims they made about the Royal Family. Then, last year, he received the unexpected news of his cancer diagnosis.

Charles has received ca:nc:er therapy for the past year. He still hasn’t totally healed, even though he was reportedly well enough to put his therapy on hold for the state visit he and Camilla took to Australia and Samoa.

Very early on, King Charles decided to reveal that he had ca:n-cer, even though it was reported that Camilla was against him disclosing his diagnosis. The fact that he did had a significant impact in the UK, with the number of people visiting websites for testing themselves skyrocketing.

Charles had apparently hoped that revealing his cancer diagnosis could inspire and assist others – and it seems to have made a real impact. A week after sharing the news, he followed up with a personal message to the nation.

“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” he said. “As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement,” Charles wrote.

He continued: “It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world. My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”

It’s still unclear exactly what type of cancer King Charles was diagnosed with. But according to Sky News, the king has frequently been to London for private meetings. Charles will resume his cancer treatment in 2025, the news site revealed just before Christmas.

Additionally, his treatment “has been moving in a positive direction,” according to insiders. Laura Lee, the CEO of Maggie’s, a cancer support organization that Queen Camilla chairs, told Sky that it’s common for cancer treatment to take time.

“It’s very common for treatment to be ongoing for very long periods of time, as is the treatment that the Princess of Wales went through, which is an intense period of treatment over a year, and then it comes to a point where it’s on an end, and she’s on that recovery from some of the impacts of her treatment,” Lee told Sky News.

“So we’ve got immunotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy. There are all sorts of different treatment modalities. And so it’s not surprising at all.”

She continued: “What we’ve heard from our centre visitors, it’s been good that they haven’t just shone a light on one specific cancer type, but they’ve shone a light on cancer as a whole, and that there’s varying treatment and varying impacts and varying different ways of navigating the challenges that cancer bring. And I think that approach has been much more effective and positive for the cancer community. I know firsthand that everyone is so grateful to them for doing that.”

Charles has stepped back from his royal duties to focus on his cancer treatment. In the meantime, Camilla and his son, Prince William, have stepped in to handle various engagements, including some overseas. However, it’s now been reported that King Charles will visit Italy for a state trip in April, with his wife by his side.

The announcement that Charles and Camilla would travel to Italy and the Holy See in early April was made by Buckingham Palace in early February. To commemorate the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, the king and queen will meet with Pope Francis. According to the palace, the pair will be “celebrating the strong bilateral relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom” at their engagements in Ravenna and Rome.

It will be Charles’s first international journey as king this year and his seventeenth visit to Italy. Grant Harrold, the former butler to King Charles, commended his former employer for taking his health into account and handling the state visit with caution in an interview with GB News.

“I think also he’s getting on a little bit, obviously he’s a little bit older. I mean when his mother became Queen and she was undertaking state visits, obviously she was a lot younger. I think because of obviously his age and his recent health and everything, they’ve probably just kind of been sensible about how they plan these kind of things. This is already his ninth visit since becoming king,” he said.

The former royal butler continued: “I just think they’re probably just planning it carefully and trying to make the most of his time while he’s overseas. With all state visits, it can be just for a couple of days or up to about a week. I’m not too sure exactly how long he’s there for. But again, these kinds of things, when they get planned, they make the most of it.”

Harrold continued by saying that he believes King Charles is “doing really well ” and is “very positive” despite the tough treatment.

“The amazing thing is that they have this resilience just to carry on. And that’s what he’s very much doing is we know he’s great. He’s a great example.”

The fact that Charles is back on track despite his cancer treatment is, of course, an excellent sign. However, not everyone is entirely confident that things are as good as they seem. Writing for News.com.au, royal expert Daniela Elser wrote about a newly taken photo of Charles, comparing it to one just taken four years ago. She said that the “ordinary” looking photo proved “the desperate situation that’s unfolding behind Palace Gates.”

She wrote that the 2020 picture, taken in Jerusalem, Israel, showed the “unmistakable” difference in King Charles’ appearance, which is “painfully hard to ignore. “

“The King might have been all smiles at church in late January, but Buckingham Palace is today facing down a previously unheard of, never-considered royal scenario — how to keep Crown Inc going in the time of an aging, cancer-battling monarch who is increasingly rattling around the Palace, stranded and with fewer than ever people to call on,” Elser wrote in a column for News.com.au, continuing by comparing him to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“As he ages and as he battles cancer, he has only very few working members of the royal family left he can rely on and delegate to in order to help him shoulder the load,” Elser added.