King Charles.
Photo: LONDON NEWS PICTURES/SHUTTERSTOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL/IBL
King Charles and wife Camilla.
Photo: CAMERA PRESS / Camera Press / TT NEWS AGENCY
King Charles, 75, said earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
After undergoing treatment, the King attended the traditional Easter service in Windsor at the end of March two months later. When one person wished him a speedy recovery, Charles replied “I’m doing the best I can”.
On Sunday, he attended the church near Balmoral to mark what would have been his mother Queen Elizabeth’s 98th birthday.
The court has not disclosed what type of cancer it is and has been clear that it will not provide the public with ongoing updates on the king’s current state of health. According to court expert Tom Sykes, this has led to the question all Britons are asking is “how sick is King Charles really?”
“Worse than they appear”
But King Charles’ health worries his friends, according to Sykes.
“When I have spoken to the King’s friends in recent weeks and asked about Charles’s health, the most common response is that they lower their voices and gloomily say ‘it’s not good'”writes Sykes.
One of the king’s friends says that Charles “is determined to beat cancer and they are fighting it with everything they have”.
– Everyone tries to be optimistic, but he really isn’t feeling well – and it’s worse than they make it seem, says the friend.
“The plans have been drawn up again”
Several sources now tell the Daily Beast that the monarch’s cancer has led to a review of “Operation Menai bridge”, the code word for King Charles’ death. There are extensive plans in hundreds of pages for what will happen when King Charles dies.
– The plans have been drawn up again and are now continuously updated. Something else is not to be expected after the king was diagnosed with cancer, says a source.
The plans include, among other things, how the king’s funeral will be handled.
“A document analyzing what worked well after the Queen’s funeral and what could be done better the next time a monarch dies, a kind of what have we learned list, is circulating in Whitehall government quarters”writes Sykes.
– The queen’s funeral went like clockwork and set the bar high. It’s a job to attend to, not something emotional, and no one is going to be taken to bed when that happens, says another source.
Urges the court to be transparent about the king
Court expert Christopher Andersen says King Charles’ reign will be considered “short” compared to Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne.
– But how short no one knows at the moment, says Andersen.
However, he believes that the court should do significantly more to reduce speculation about the king:
– It would help enormously if the court was transparent about the king’s state of health and prospects.
READ MORE: Premium The Plan for the King’s Death: “Operation Menai Bridge”
