Thank you for subscribing!
The experience gave Queen Camilla a profoundly personal understanding of what cancer patients and their families go through every day
The Queen has opened up for the first time about the King's cancer diagnosis, revealing that he was resolute about handling it on his own terms.
In a film created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Maggie's cancer charity, she shared that nothing could hold him back after receiving the news.
"Look at my husband, nothing stopped him. He just said: 'This is my way, I'm going to cope with it,'" she revealed.
The Queen, who has served as president of Maggie's since 2008, spoke with remarkable frankness during a conversation with the charity's chief executive, Dame Laura Lee, filmed at Clarence House.
The King, now 77, has been undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer for over two years, following his diagnosis in early 2024.
What made her revelations particularly poignant was her account of opening a new Maggie's centre at the Royal Free Hospital in north-west London on January 31 2024.
This was just two days after the King left hospital and five days before Buckingham Palace told the world about his cancer.
"I remember coming to see a Maggie's just after the King being diagnosed," she said. "Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult."
She came close to letting the secret slip, admitting: "I almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn't the time to say."
However, the weight of keeping the secret took its toll. "I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn't," she told Dame Laura.
The Queen stated that meeting patients at the centre that day felt entirely different for her. "I was almost questioning them. I didn't want to pry too deeply. Normally when I went in, I was just talking to them but I don't know, I felt it was much more deep," she admitted.
Queen Camilla added: "It had never really come back to roost at home. And suddenly your husband is diagnosed and you think, 'Goodness, I've been talking to all these people and now I'm the one with some relation who's got to help to look after my poor husband and try and understand it all."
The experience gave her a profoundly personal understanding of what cancer patients and their families go through every day.
The King had initially gone into hospital in January 2024 for treatment for an enlarged prostate, only to discover he had cancer. The type of cancer the monarch was diagnosed with has not been disclosed.
Despite the gravity of the news, he was back carrying out public engagements by April that year, prompting the Queen to note at the time that he "won't slow down and won't do what he's told".
By December, there was genuinely encouraging news. The King shared in a televised address to the nation that his treatment would be scaled back, describing it as reaching a "milestone".
He called the progress a "personal blessing" and expressed gratitude for catching it early and for the advances in modern medicine that had helped him along the way.
The King's willingness to be open about his own diagnosis has had a real impact.
Dame Laura revealed that male visitors to Maggie's centres rose by 12 per cent following his announcement.
She added: "The King's openness about his diagnosis has undoubtedly helped others to be more open themselves and to now hear The Queen's completely understandable and natural response as a wife shines a light on why it is so important that family and friends also get the support they need."
