King Charles thanks doctors for his cancer treatment and Kate Middleton – National
King Charles thanked the doctors who cared for him and his daughter-in-law Kate, after they were both treated for cancer this year, in a Christmas Day message that touched on global conflicts and Britain’s summer riots.
In his third Christmas TV broadcast since becoming king, Charles delivered a rare royal message of the season, a tradition dating back to George V’s 1932 radio address.
It has been a turbulent year for the royal family after Buckingham Palace said in February that the 76-year-old had been diagnosed with an undiagnosed cancer found in tests after a procedure to repair an enlarged prostate.
A month later, Kate, the wife of her son and heir Prince William, said she was undergoing chemotherapy to prevent cancer, which ended in September. William said the year had been brutal for the family.
“We all experience some form of suffering at some point in our lives, whether it’s mental or physical,” said Charles, who became king in 2022 after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
His words were accompanied by a picture of a visit he made to a cancer treatment center when he returned to public service in April and some of Kate’s first encounters when she started working.
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“From a personal perspective, I offer a special heartfelt thank you to the selfless doctors and nurses this year who supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainty and anxiety of illness, and helped give us the strength, care and comfort that I needed,” said Charles.
“I am very grateful once again to all those who have given us their kind words of sympathy and encouragement,” he said in a pre-recorded radio broadcast from the former London hospital’s ornate chapel.
Last week, a palace source said the king’s treatment is going well and will continue next year.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles was joined by his family, including Kate, William and their children, at a church service at his Sandringham estate in eastern England.
Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, who was embroiled in another scandal this month when a close business associate was banned from Britain over government allegations that he was a Chinese agent, was not in the royal force.
DIFFERENCE OF POWER
The king spoke of riots across the country, which erupted following the July killings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed party in northern England, with mosques and immigrants mostly targeted.
“Diversity of culture, nationality and faith gives strength, not weakness”, he said.
“I felt a deep sense of pride here in the United Kingdom when in response to anger and lawlessness in several cities this summer, communities came together not to repeat this behavior, but to repair, to repair not just buildings, but relationships,” he said.
Charles also spoke about the ongoing wars.
“On this Christmas day, we cannot think of those whose tragic consequences of conflicts in the Middle East, in the center of Europe, in Africa and elsewhere, are a daily threat to the lives and lives of so many people,” he said.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
