Queen Camilla gave royal fans and inquiring press a brief update on the health status of her husband King Charles... and a slight, oh-so subtle warning seemingly directed at the monarch.
On May 16, while attending a garden party at Lamb House in Rye, UK, the Queen told attending guests that her 75-year-old husband was "getting better," Roya Nikkhah, royal editor of The Sunday Times, reports.
The Queen did, however, provide somewhat of a caveat.
"Well, he would if he behaved himself," she added.
Queen Camilla did not expand on her brief comments. Since King Charles announced he has been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer earlier this year, royal family members and monarch insiders have claimed the monarch has been "frustrated" to step back from his public-facing royal duties as he continues treatment.
“He is always pushing, his staff and everybody and his doctors and nurses to be able to say: 'Actually, can I do this? Can I do that?'" Peter Phillips, the King's nephew, told Sky News Australia's The Royal Report in March, adding that his uncle is "frustrated that he can't get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do."
“So the overriding message would be that he's obviously very keen to get back to a form of normality," Phillips added at the time.
In addition, that same month a source told People that the one "thing that has been wholly undiminished is (the King's) appetite for work."
The King returned to public-facing duties on April 30, including a visit to a cancer treatment center to meet with medical specialists and patients. Recently, the Palace released an update on the King's health, writing in a statement that the monarch's "treatment program will continue" and that "doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far."
“Forthcoming engagements will be adapted where necessary to minimize any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery," the Palace's statement continued, in addition to confirming that the King was “greatly encouraged” to be resuming some public-facing duties and “very grateful” to his medical team for their “continued care and expertise.”
The King is known to be something of a "workaholic," perhaps made all the more obvious when the King chose not to meet with his son Prince Harry earlier this month due to his busy scheduled
A source close to the royal family told royal author Katie Nicholl for Vanity Fair that Charles was “a good patient” but “not a very patient one.
“He is doing well, but is frustrated more than anything else that he has had to take time off," the source added.
