April is the cruelest of months, says the poem by T.S. Eliot. But for King Charles III it is a good month, the return to public functions after the longest period of inactivity in decades. The cruelest of the months was February, when he was diagnosed with cancer, which Buckingham Palace has not yet said what it is, nor the prognosis (although it is assumed to be good).
The British monarch smiled yesterday when he arrived in the royal Bentley, with Camilla, at the McMillan Center of the University College Hospital, a pioneering center for cancer research in the heart of London, his first participation in a public event, of these I used to have every week, before receiving the medical diagnosis. A symbolic presence to highlight the importance of an early detection of the disease, as he was lucky enough to have it.
The king chatted with the director of the center, doctors and patients receiving chemotherapy, sat next to them and, affectionately and empathetically, took some of them by the hand, as if to tell them that he now knows from his own experience what it means suffering from cancer, the combination of worry, anxiety, fear and also hope.
The holder of the English crown has always said that what he likes most about his position is the proximity to his subjects, the possibility of chatting with them, and his absence of three months on the recommendation of the doctors – say Palau sources – it took an eternity. Now, in a way, he feels liberated.
Since February, he has only been seen in public since Easter Sunday mass and in carefully selected images from his weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, or reading some of the cards wishing him a speedy recovery in his office recovery (received thousands). His return to work is an image of continuity that the crown needed.
Yesterday’s visit to the hospital is the first step in the king’s return to relative normalcy. The monarch’s spring and summer schedule is busy, with the two traditional openings of Buckingham Palace gardens to thousands of select guests (he will take part in one), the parade to celebrate his birthday (which he will preside over from a podium instead of riding), the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy landings, Garter Day, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, and the Ascot horse races. At the end of June, Carles and Camilla plan to receive the Emperor and Empress of Japan in the first state visit to the country since the Korean president and first lady made in November.
Charles III’s plan is to spend August and September at Balmoral Palace (Scotland) with a large part of his family, fishing, hunting and having picnics. And gathering strength for the two-week trip in the fall to Australia and Samoa. Always if the doctors allow it.
