Real Reason King Charles Never Revealed Which Type of Cancer He Was Diagnosed With

Find out why Palace insiders say King Charles III decided to keep the type of cancer he has private.
It’s no secret that 2024 hasn’t been an easy year for King Charles. In January, Buckingham Palace announced that the monarch was undergoing a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate. By sharing that personal news about his health, the king had hoped it would encourage other men to schedule appointments for exams and get regular checkups.
“In common with thousands of men each year, the king has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate,” the Palace’s statement said.
King Charles was released from the hospital a few days after his procedure. But on Feb. 5, another update on the monarch’s health was shared: “During the king’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.”
Now an insider is giving the reason the royal family patriarch never publicly revealed what type of cancer he was diagnosed with.
King Charles III waves towards well-wishers as he arrives to attend a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall in London | Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images
Why King Charles chose not to announce what type of cancer he had
Because the Palace announced the specific procedure King Charles was having done in the first place many assumed it would be made public which type of cancer doctors found. However, the monarch chose not to say.
According to a Palace source who spoke to the Times, that was “a conscious choice [by the king] to be able to reach out to the widest number of people who are experiencing the disease, rather than narrow the focus onto a particular form of cancer.”
After the king’s initial announcement this year regarding his prostate procedure, the NHS website’s page on prostate enlargement received 11 times more visits than on the previous day. NHS England noted that one person visited the site every five seconds or a total of 16,410.
Royal family looks toward brighter days in the year ahead
King Charles III, Prince William, Kate Middleton pose for a photograph ahead of The Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace | Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Buckingham Palace
It wasn’t just King Charles, other members of the family also had a trying year including the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton). The monarch’s daughter-in-law announced in March 2024 that she too had cancer and would be getting treatment.
To see both his wife and father battle the disease led Prince William to call 2024 “brutal,” “dreadful,” and “probably the hardest year in my life.”
In September, Kate announced that she had finished chemotherapy and is now “cancer free” in an emotional social media post writing: “I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family … Doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus.”
As for the king, he will continue his treatment in 2025. A Buckingham Palace insider told Sky News: “His treatment has been moving in a positive direction, and as a managed condition, the treatment cycle will continue into next year.”