King Charles

I am distressed , no member of the royal family has endured as
much criticism lies and mocking as Charles . I thought he
had reached a peaceful time in his life.
I don’t know him, I have met him several times since his investiture in 1969 , a gentle, kind man

It might be the start of improving relationship between Charles and Harry.

Not so sure about William and Harry though.

But serious illness focuses the mind on what matters in life, and the health of loved ones is really all that matters.

Often realised far too late.

There are bound to be comments about H&M. It would be very odd if people just stopped. Hopefully any reports will now focus on the positive. Harry is on his way to see his father and anyone who has suffered estrangement or any family discord would be rejoicing not nit picking.

There’s a long way to go and some serious wounds to heal but this could be a start.

Digressing somewhat, but on the subject of rolling news.

When Margaret Thatcher resigned, at the end of my working day I popped in to see my elderly mum. She had her tv on (as usual) and Mrs T came up.

“Oh, for goodness sake, not this again!’” said Mum. ‘I don’t know how many times I’ve heard all this!”

“Well” I said. “Some of us have been at work all day, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to hear about it”.

We don’t all hear stuff at the same time.

And of course, times have changed greatly since those days.

Major world and domestic events command our news headlines. News is broadcast quite differently to the days when everyone 'switched on' at a certain time to get the latest news. People can now listen to or watch the news when it suits them, or when their working life permits it - that's why we have rolling news - and why any major event will continue to dominate the headline. There are posters on here who have only just become aware of the king's diagnosis.

So I don't understand why people are complaining about it - if you must sit and watch the rolling news continually then you should expect to hear a repeat of the main focus. The serious illness of the monarch and how it affects the rest of the working members of the family is a major news item.

mae13

Rishi was in there like lightening, speaking on 5Live. His PR people were quick off the mark - here we go......

The PM couldn’t ignore King Charles III’s announcement…

It’s rather sad to see that even on a thread about the King’s cancer diagnosis some use it as an opportunity to dredge up the usual comments about Harry and Meghan.

Rishi was in there like lightening, speaking on 5Live. His PR people were quick off the mark - here we go......

So a brave decision to be frank about his medical condition to the degree that he has. We do not need intmate details.

Cancer of any kind and the treatment for it is no joke when you get into your 70s. KC is only a few years younger than I am and I do feel for him in this respect.

When George VI (the late Queen's father) developed cancer the docters pussy footed around being frank with the family, calling it "structural changes" in the lungs. There was a lot of stigma surrounding cancer in those days (1950s). Perhaps if the king had known the truth earlier he would have had more time to prepare his family and his daughter to be queen. As it was she departed on a Commonwealth tour as his representative expecting to return and see her father. She never saw him alive again.

I heard on the news an announcement in Parliament, messages
from Commonwealth countries , messages from other heads of state

Sorry (oh for an edit button) "the monarchy will carry on" in the last sentence.

Freya5

CoolCoco

They haven’t said it was prostate cancer though have they? They’ve said they found a separate condition whilst doing the treatment for a benign condition, it’s all speculation and gossip. Yes, talking about cancer and encouraging checking is good, but the BBC news have only had this issue on for 10 minutes, you’d think there was nothing else happening in the world.

Oh dear. You know what, he is our head of state, it matters to many. Ten minutes, that's all. You didn't have to listen to it, there is an off button , I use it frequently.

It wasn't 10 minutes was it though? It was the whole of the 6 o'clock news. Yes, it's a horrible diagnosis; it's awful for his family and shocking for us, but ... the news consisted of three or four correspondents saying the same thing each time they were asked, Nicholas Witchell being the worst, who manages to say the same thing in about half a dozen ways each time he's asked.

My criticism, and I suspect CoolCoco's was about the news going on and on and on ... about it. There's only so much that can be said. Repeated speculation is pointless.

Having said that, it's a shocking diagnosis and I feel very sorry for him and his family. That's all. The rest is just chat and the country will carry on, the monarchy will carry, parliament will carry on and so will most of us.

Must you dredge all that up Annie? William needs support as his wife has had surgery, his father has cancer and he is going to have to take on more duties full stop.

I'm pleased Charles possible Prostate issue has spurd on men to get Blood test to check their PSA levels.
That includes my DH who had his blood test last Friday.
After hearing the news yesterday on KC, he checked his results on his NHS app "Normal" let's hope many others get the same results.

I wish KC well I'm sure he will be fine.

If we didn't have the gutter press we have, then his diagnosis could be revealed as just factual. Which could help and encourage a lot of people and their families.

Sadly we have a lying, over dramatic "popular" press. Meghan and the gc appearing would just be cat mint to them and, as has been said already, dangerous for a man whose immune system will be compromised by his treatment.

I hope Harry's appearance can be as low key as possible and is what any AC would do in the circumstances finances for a long flight permitting.
And I expect "royal duties" can be dramatically scaled back.

I too feel very sorry for the K and Q. Only just in his role after such a long wait. I wish them both well.

I’ve just seen on the ITV morning news that Prince Harry is already on a flight back to U.K.

William needs support , accused of hitting someone onto a dog bowl on the floor, his wife suffered from baby brain after the birth of her third child followed by his wife questioned the colour of his awaited child. And now his worries for his father and his wife added to taking on further duties,

CoolCoco

I don’t think this should be headline news. I don’t wish to know. Now we’ll have loads of speculation about his treatment etc. Should be private.

I don't agree with you. King Charles is bucking the trend by telling the country about his health. I have a son-in-law who works in cancer research and he said that King Charles being so open about his prostate treatment may encourage more men to seek help for a condition so many of them don't want to discuss. Kate on the other hand has kept the reason for her recent surgery to those who need to know and that is her right. People will speculate. It's what people do.

Whiff, is it really necessary for you to refer to the decision that Harry visits without his wife and children ‘mean’. It seems to me positive that this father phoned his son to share this shocking news, and that Harry made immediate arrangements to visit.
In the circumstances it would imo be unwise to bring Meghan and the children. Long journey to visit a man who will start cancer treatment imminently. There are many of us here who travelled that path or are still supporting husbands/loved ones. We know that being the King won’t make the treatments or the fear that accompanies the diagnosis easier to manage. Father and son need to look to each other at this difficult time. I wish them well

CoolCoco

I wasn’t “ negative about a man who has cancer” - apologies if I gave that impression - I was referring to the endless unnecessary media coverage - speculation of the impact, this that and the other, live broadcast from outside Buckingham Palace , even a piece on the history of the King’s health issues over the years, how will the government cope etc. I have every sympathy for anyone with cancer, it’s a horrible illness as I know personally, but do we need all this repetition and speculation? All they need to say is we wish him and everyone else with cancer well. He is getting first class treatment. Any further updates we’ll let you know.

He is a man as well as a king. Men are notorious for ignoring the signs and symptoms of cancer until it is entrenched enough to be inoperable, just as they ignore the signs and symptoms of prostate problems. Charles being open about his prostate, and the media using the chance to publicise that he was having treatment and explain about the condition, sent many men to their GPs who would not otherwise have made the appointment.
If the publicity encourages a similar number to seek treatment for cancer, it can only be a good thing.

As for all the talk about who would be taking over his duties while he is treated, and so on, many people would wonder, and a large proportion of those wondering would make the wrong guess about who it would be. Any chance to dispel the general ignorance about the arrangements for a temporary replacement of our head of state (no, it wouldn't be Harry and Meghan) or any of the other ways that things are done in the UK, can't be bad.

Switch your radio over to Classic FM if you don't want to hear it.

I have very little time for the Royal family, however, having personal experience of cancer and also having lost family members to this terrible disease I wish Charles a speedy recovery. It appears it has been spotted in its early stages so hopefully the treatment will be successful

Curlywhirly

I wonder if Harry will now feel it's time to heal the rifts he has with his family? It must be upsetting for him to get this news, especially as he is (allegedly) estranged.

It is reported that Harry is to visit his father. Perhaps this is a chance for a reconciliation - and perhaps bring it home to Harry that worse things happen to grownups than being born after your elder brother and having a smaller bedroom than him.

Just switch off when you ve heard enough Coolcoco because it ain’t going anywhere in the near future there will be masses of news everyday for a long time

But you know what if it saves one man’s life by pushing them to go to the doctor it will be worth the repetition

I’m another who has only just heard this news, I’m over in New Zealand at present.
I wish King Charles all the best and hope he has a speedy recovery.
I think it’s important that famous people speak out about this type of condition because it will encourage others to get themselves checked.

I feel for Charles if he has been affected by urinary problems,as an enlarged prostate causes discomfort and frequency.Imagine being on official duties and in the public eye and feeling desperate to go.No matter how privileged his lifestyle that can't be fun.
He apparently leads a very healthy lifestyle eating sensibly,drinking little and very active but it just shows that cancer can affect anyone of us.However he must have had a huge amount of stress in the last few years with his mother dying,taking over at his age and the shenanigans of certain members of his family. Who knows what triggers rogue cells to go into overdrive?Hopefully caught early he will recover.I can't imagine William wants the top job just yet.