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Queen Camilla was against King Charles’s decision to publicly disclose his ongoing health concerns earlier this year, according to royal biographer Rob Jobson, who has written a number of books about Charles and other members of the royal family.
The monarch, 75, first announced that he was undergoing treatment for a benign prostate condition in January of this year.
Then, in February, it was announced that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, which had been discovered during the procedure.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said at the time: “No further details are being shared at this stage, except to confirm that His Majesty does not have prostate cancer.”
The King was subsequently forced to take a temporary step back from public-facing duties and it was reported that he would be undertaking a reduced schedule when he returned to work at the end of April.
Mr Jobson, who last year published Our King: Charles III – The Man and the Monarch Revealed, said: “Queen Camilla had initially been against disclosing his condition, but the King overruled her as he felt it was a chance to take a lead and in doing so to encourage men experiencing similar symptoms to seek timely medical attention.
“There was a significant increase in searches related to enlarged prostate on the National Health Service website following the monarch’s revelation.
“The NHS England page on benign prostate enlargement had more than 26,000 visits in the 48 hours after the announcement, compared to a daily average of just 1,400.”
While Camilla’s reasons were not disclosed by Jobson, he claimed that Charles wanted to disclose his troubles to avoid the “fake news” which often circulated whenever the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip received medical attention.
Jobson added of the decision: “He was lauded for doing so, with commentators saying he had ushered in a new era of transparency in matters of health and the royal family.”
The king’s health concerns marked the beginning of one of the most tumultuous years in modern history for the royal family.
While the Princess of Wales initially revealed that she was undergoing planned abdominal surgery in January and intended to return to duty after Easter, she released a poignant video message in March announcing that she had also been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer.
Kate, 42, made a welcome return to public life in June at Trooping the Colour, the King’s official birthday parade, and appeared on the final day of this year’s Wimbledon to present the trophies.
The royal family are currently on their summer holiday at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire and the Wales family are expected to join the King and Queen.
The journey to Scotland will be the furthest the princess has travelled since being diagnosed with cancer.
