The Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance alongside King
Charles and Queen Camilla to recognise the work of Cancer Research
UK.
At a reception
to mark the organisation’s 125th anniversary, the King
and Catherine appeared together at their first cancer awareness
event since their diagnoses and treatments in 2024.
Queen Camilla and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also
in attendance to celebrate cancer researchers, medical
professionals, and other partners who work at Cancer Research
UK.
The organisation researches more than 200 forms of cancer and in
the past 50 years, according to their official website, they have
doubled survival rates for cancer patients in the United
Kingdom.
Catherine was “really wonderful” according to Davina
McCall, a broadcaster who underwent surgery to remove a benign
brain tumour and was later diagnosed with breast cancer.
King Charles at Cancer
Rearch UK Reception Royal Family / X / Fair Use
Speaking to reporters afterwards, McCall said it was a
“liberating” conversation and spoke of how being a public
figure on the level of King Charles and Catherine, and dealing with
a cancer diagnosis, must have been very difficult.
“I can’t imagine what it must be like having going through
something like cancer, and then sort of having to tell people about
it, when possibly it would have been much easier and nicer to not
have to share it with the world,” she said.
During the reception, the royals viewed exhibits from Cancer
Research UK on how technology has advanced their research; and
heard how the organisation plans to invest £1 billion into cancer
research over the next three years.
On the Royal Family’s official
social media accounts, Cancer Research UK was praised for
“125 years of life-changing research” and tireless work to
“transform how cancer is understood, prevented, detected and
treated.”
King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in
February 2024 following a health check-up. He still receives
treatments,
though announced in December that thanks to early detection and
medical care, he would be scaling back treatment this year.
Catherine was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer
around the same time, though publicly announced the news in March
2024,
and is now in remission.