Queen Camilla breaks silence on King Charles' cancer and opens up about 'difficult' time
19 August 2026, 13:42
Camilla has praised her 'brave' husband King Charles III's courageous spirit in the years following his cancer diagnosis.
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Queen Camilla has opened up about her 'brave' husband King Charles' cancer journey, detailing a particularly tricky moment she faced not long after her husband was diagnosed with the disease.
Her Majesty admitted it was "quite difficult" to keep the monarch's illness a secret when she visited a cancer support centre two and a half years ago as it hadn't yet been revealed to the public.
On 31st January 2024, she made an appearance at the Royal Free Hospital in London to mark the opening of charity Maggie’s, but the sovereign's health struggles weren't officially announced until 5th February.
She made the emotional comments during a promotional film celebrating the non-profit organisation's 30th anniversary, which was released earlier today.
Camilla has remained by her husband's side throughout his health struggles and has outwardly praised his courageous spirit.
During the same film, when told he was inspiring to others facing a similar fate, she replied: "Look at my husband. Nothing stopped him."
Reflecting on the last few years, she also recalled Charles III's brave attitude that appeared alongside his cancer diagnosis.
- READ MORE: What cancer does King Charles have? What we know about his health condition
- READ MORE: King Charles taken to hospital after suffering side effects of cancer treatment
According to Camilla, he declared at the time: "This is my way, I am going to cope with it."
And it turns out his defiant approach had a positive impact on the drop-in centres overall.
The charity’s chief executive Dame Laura Lee DBE explained that the organisation had seen a 12 per cent increase in male users since King Charles' news was announced.
She spoke of "the amount of people that come in because of the King being so open about his diagnosis" in the short film.
Queen Camilla opens up about charity support she recieved after King Charles' diagnosis
Camilla, who has been president of Maggie's since 2008, continued: "It had never really come back to roost at home, and suddenly your husband is diagnosed and you think, 'Goodness'."
Recalling her poignant visit back in 2024, she added: "I remember coming to see Maggie’s just after the King had been diagnosed and nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult.
"I almost said something but I felt it wasn’t the time to say. I looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were."
Dame Laura replied: "It was just a week before it became public and the courage that that must have taken for you to make that visit."
To which Camilla said: "I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t."
"The more open that you are when you talk about it, the less scary cancer can become," reassured Dame Laura.
She added: "If you just keep the lid on it, it can build up. On that visit, you did sit with centre visitors and the empathy and support you were able to offer."
Camilla admitted: "I was almost questioning them. I didn’t want to pry too deeply. But normally when I went in, I was just talking to them. But, I don’t know, I felt it was much more deep."
