UK’s King Charles III attends church for first time since revealing he has cancer

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2024

King Charles III attended Sunday services for the first time since his cancer diagnosis, offering a cheerful wave as he walked out of the parish church that has regularly served as a place of worship for the royal family.

Charles and Queen Camilla went to St. Mary Magdalene Church, close to Sandringham House in eastern England where the king retreated to recuperate following his first treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. The estate, some 110 miles (180 kilometres) north of London, offers the monarch a place of shelter where he can isolate from the risk of infection.

The appearance came a day after he expressed thanks for the messages of support he had received from the public. In a statement issued late Saturday, the monarch said that such thoughts are “the greatest comfort and encouragement.”

 

“It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and the wider world,” he said in a statement.

“My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own experience.”

Buckingham Palace announced the diagnosis on Monday. Charles was last seen on Tuesday as he left his home at Clarence House in London after starting his treatment.

Sandringham, the private home of the past six British monarchs, sits amid parkland, gardens and working farms. It has been owned by the royal family since 1862.

AP

Photo by Reuters