A royal commentator has said they have noticed a change in how King Charles interacts with the public compared to his mother Queen Elizabeth II
Christopher Sharp Trendswatch Reporter
10:13, 02 Oct 2025Updated 10:14, 02 Oct 2025
A royal expert has said he’s noticed a change in King Charles(Image: Getty)
A royal expert who has reported on the Royal Family for years says they have noticed one major change in King Charles since the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Royal commentator Richard Eden was being interviewed on the Daily Mail’s royal podcast Palace Confidential when he was asked what, if any, changes he had noticed in the Firm since Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022.
In response Richard said that whilst he couldn’t think of any radical changes, he had noticed that the King was more tactile compared to his mother. Whilst he put this down to the late Queen’s length of time on the throne and her age, he also said that the King’s cancer had played a role.
He explained: “I don’t think we’ve seen too many radical changes really. I think the thing that struck me actually is how much more tactile King Charles is than his mother.
“I think it’s partly she was Queen for so long there was so much respect and, obviously by the end she was a very elderly woman, that people kept their distance. You wouldn’t touch the Queen. We’ve seen with King Charles he’s remarkably tactile so he’s been hugging people. In a way I didn’t see that coming.”
Richard Eden said he felt the King was more tactile(Image: Getty)
Richard added: “I think his cancer has drawn him to the public even quicker perhaps, that sympathy, and the intimations on mortality, the fact that no one knows how long he’ll be around has warmed him to people and I think that’s increased that level of affection.”
King Charles has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since early 2024, a year in which the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton also received treatment for an undisclosed form of the disease.
This hasn’t stopped him carrying out hundreds of royal engagements in 2025, as data from the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements, suggested in September that he undertook engagements on 175 days over the past 12 months, up from 133 days in the second year of his reign.
King Charles(Image: Getty)
Whilst we do not know what cancer the King has, he has spoken about his experience of living with it and reflected on his battle.
In a personal written message released to the public earlier this year, he said that it “can also be an experience that brings into sharp focus the very best of humanity.”
During his message, he also touched on and hailed the work of the famous cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James, who died in 2022 when he said: “Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope.”