King Charles III will speak publicly about his cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery in a televised broadcast airing Friday night, using his personal experience to encourage early cancer screening and awareness.
The pre-recorded message will be shown at 8 p.m. and will mark the king’s most direct reflection yet on the nearly two years since he revealed he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
The monarch’s decision to make his diagnosis public represented a significant shift from royal tradition, where personal health matters have historically been kept private. At the time of the announcement, Buckingham Palace said Charles chose transparency to avoid speculation and to help improve understanding of cancer among those affected worldwide.
Since then, the king has repeatedly used his platform to emphasize the importance of early detection. While palace officials have not disclosed the specific type of cancer, they have said it was identified during treatment for an enlarged prostate, after doctors flagged a separate area of concern.
Following the diagnosis, Charles paused public-facing duties for about two months to focus on treatment and recovery, though he continued to carry out state business and remained active in his constitutional role as head of state.
He resumed public engagements in April last year with a visit to a cancer treatment centre at University College Hospital in London, where he met patients and medical staff and spoke candidly about the emotional impact of a diagnosis.
“It’s always a bit of a shock, isn’t it, when they tell you,” Charles told one patient as she received chemotherapy, underscoring the empathy that has defined his public approach to the illness.
