King Charles might have been hospitalized last week, but he showed no signs of slowing down on Tuesday, April 1 as he returned to royal duties. The King—who was briefly kept in the hospital after suffering side effects from cancer treatment—was forced to cancel his planned engagements on March 27 and 28, but he appeared in high spirits at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
The monarch presided over an investiture ceremony at the castle, recognizing British community leaders and celebrities for their work such as beloved TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh and reigning world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, King Charles—who announced his cancer diagnosis in February 2024—received his "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" at the London Clinic last week when he "experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital."
After canceling a day full of engagements in Birmingham on Friday, March 28, The King traveled to his country retreat, Highgrove House, for the weekend to rest and recover. However, the monarch will be carrying out his usual duties—albeit on a slightly lighter scale—over the next week before The King and Queen leave for their state visit to Italy.
Per the Mirror, sources close to The King have called his hospitalization "a bump in the road" and said his ongoing cancer treatments are "very much headed in the right direction."
Despite The King's hospital scare and Pope Francis's own health issues, Their Majesties' trip to Italy—which will begin April 7— is still scheduled as planned, with the exception of their visit to The Holy See. On March 25, Buckingham Palace released a statement that the King and Queen's visit with the Pope "has been postponed by mutual agreement" following his bout with double pneumonia.
While they're visiting Rome, King Charles and Queen Camilla will celebrate a major milestone in their relationship, as the trip falls over their 20th wedding anniversary. The couple was recently called the "most compatible" in the Royal Family ahead of their anniversary on April 9.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, body language expert Darren Stanton said, “I would say Charles and Camilla are the most compatible royal couple. They have had this deep love since they were both very young. We're talking about a 50-year-plus romance."
To Queen Camilla's credit, she's one of the only people The King will take advice from when it comes to slowing down. Royal author Phil Dampier recently told the Sun that while Charles "is renowned for burning midnight oil and even falling asleep at his desk working so many hours," the 76-year-old monarch needs to make a "vital" change.
"He needs to pace himself—which the Queen has said he is hopeless at doing—and she is probably the only person he will listen to," Dampier added.
