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King Charles and the Princess of Wales were sent a huge volume of get-well-soon cards after they were diagnosed with cancer, the palace has revealed.
It has been a difficult year for the royal family, with both Charles and Kate having to step back from public-facing duties as they continue treatment.
The pair supported each other through the difficult news but have also had plenty of support from outside palace walls, having received a staggering 27,000 written messages wishing them good health.
Public support for the senior royals was evident when they both revealed their diagnoses earlier this year, with children lining the streets with hand-drawn signs.
Charles was pictured reading some of the 27,000 cards in June and was reportedly “brought to tears” by the messages sent from across the country.
Many people were said to have written to tell him of their own experiences of the disease or offering advice. One person told him: “Chin up, chest out, remain positive and don’t let it get you down. Trust me, it works, but the main thing is family.”
In the annual Sovereign Grant report, released on Wednesday, the palace said support teams “adapted swiftly” to the changing health circumstances in ways which included dealing with far more mail.
Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said staff received: “Some 27,000 messages of well-wishes for The King and Princess of Wales following the announcements about their health, building on the 31,000 kind messages that had been received for The Coronation and reaching a total of 138,000 items of correspondence for the year 2023-24.
“As His Majesty has said, ‘such kind thoughts have been the greatest comfort and encouragement’.”
The report also revealed how treatment impacted the amount of official engagements undertaken by the royal family as a whole in the last year.
The royals managed to attend 2,327 events, 400 visits down from 2,710 the previous year, with the King and Queen undertaking 665 official engagements between them.
“In the early part of 2024 came the sad news that both His Majesty The King and The Princess of Wales would be withdrawing from public-facing duties temporarily, to prioritise their treatment and recovery from cancer,” Sir Michael said.
“This inevitably impacted on the number and nature of engagements that had been planned - though may I say how encouraging it is to see The King back performing so many public duties and, more recently, The Princess similarly well enough to join The King’s Birthday Parade and the Men’s Wimbledon Final.”
The King returned to public life sooner than his daughter-in-law did. Her first public appearance was at Charles’ official birthday celebration, the Trooping of the Colour, in June, which was followed weeks later by her Wimbledon appearance.
She attended the final day of the tournament with Princess Charlotte, nine, and was greeted by a standing ovation in Centre Court.
She also provided an update on her work yesterday, celebrating the new gardens at London’s Natural History Museum, where she is patron.
Alluding to her ongoing illness, she wrote in a statement: “I am hugely supportive of the Museum’s commitment to create a special space which encourages people of all ages to reconnect with nature and learn more about how we can protect our natural world.
“I know the power of nature to support our development and well-being, both by bringing us joy and helping to keep us physically, mentally and spiritually healthy.
“I hope these gardens will be inspiring and transformative for the thousands of people who visit.”
