King Charles III announces return to public duties amid cancer battle, shares new photo with Queen Camilla

King Charles III is set to return to his public work duties next week amid his battle with cancer.

“His Majesty The King will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Instagram Friday alongside a new photo of the 75-year-old monarch linking arms with his wife, Queen Camilla.

“To help mark this milestone, The King and Queen will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment centre next Tuesday, where they will meet medical specialists and patients. This visit will be the first in a number of external engagements His Majesty will undertake in the weeks ahead,” the statement continued.

“In addition, The King and Queen will host Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan for a State Visit in June, at the request of HM Government.”

The royal couple also shared that they are “deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around the world throughout the joys and challenges” since their coronation last year.

The update comes on the heels of an alarming Daily Beast report that Charles’ health was “not good.”

“Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell,” a source told veteran royal reporter Tom Sykes on Thursday. “More than they are letting on.”

Sykes claimed that the king’s funeral plans, which are code-named “Operation Menai Bridge,” were under review as a result.

As for royal scribe Tina Brown, she recently reported that Charles’ son Prince William and daughter-in-law Kate Middleton were experiencing “intense anxiety” over their “frightening proximity to ascending the throne just when they had hoped for a span of years to parent their children out of the public eye.”

Charles ascended the throne in September 2022 upon his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s death and was coronated in May of the following year.

This February, Buckingham Palace revealed the royal’s cancer diagnosis after he underwent “routine hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement” and a “separate issue of concern was noted.”

At the time, Charles began treatment and “postpone[d] public-facing duties.”

The statement concluded, “He is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”

The specific form of cancer was not disclosed.

Notably, Middleton, 42, was also diagnosed with cancer this year and has remained out of the public eye while undergoing chemotherapy.

“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was noncancerous,” she explained in a March video. “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”

The Princess of Wales, who is the mother of Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 6, was not the only royal family member to share a diagnosis last month.

Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, is battling the “worst form” of skin cancer.