King Charles will arrive in Australia on the 18th. This will be his first (!!!) visit/tour to a “British realm” as king. As in, a country which still has the British monarch as their head of state. In recent weeks, Buckingham Palace courtiers have been gently trying to lower expectations for the trip and add some sympathetic layers for Charles. Charles is pausing his cancer treatments for the tour, and they’re limiting his schedule because no one knows how tired he’ll be. They’re telling people that the point of the tour is to show people that he’s still alive. The bar is, as always, in hell. Well, now they’re saying that Charles will travel with two doctors, neither of which is the king’s in-house homeopath. LMAO.
The King will take two doctors with him on his 11-day trip to Australia and Samoa. Charles’s visit to Sydney and Canberra will be his first visit of the reign to a Commonwealth realm. To make it possible, the King will pause the cancer treatment he has been undergoing since his diagnosis in February.
The 75-year-old monarch will be monitored closely during the visit. A palace source said that the decision to pause treatment and resume it when he returns to Britain followed doctors’ advice. It is understood that Michael Dixon, the head of the royal medical household, who is known for his interest in homeopathy, will not be one of the doctors travelling with the King.
Steps taken to support Charles abroad are understood to be the same as previous arrangements put in place for the late Queen. They included travelling with a supply of the monarch’s blood, to ensure an exact match if a transfusion was needed. As well as travelling with his own doctors, the King will be supported by medical teams in Australia and Samoa. In Australia, the itinerary has been designed with the King’s health in mind: the King and Queen will have a rest day and there will be no evening engagements.
Hugo Vickers, the historian and author, said: “I’m sure that the medical team has been consulted and will look after the King and make sure that he doesn’t overwork, as we know he has a propensity to do. I’m sure he wouldn’t be undertaking the trip unless he was fit enough to do it.”
In Samoa, the King and Queen will arrive in the evening and attend a state dinner. The King will meet Commonwealth heads of government in Samoa and has had a series of phone calls with leaders in preparation. In Australia he is due to visit the Sydney Opera House and attand a barbecue, and said to be looking forward to meeting the public. Given his continued ill health, however, a planned visit to New Zealand was cut from the tour.
If I’m being honest, I do feel a tad sorry for Charles. He waited seventy-plus years to become king and now, two years after his mother’s passing, it’s like he’s holding the whole operation together with scotch tape and glitter. Notice how no one has even suggested that it probably would have been better to send the heir, or that the heir should be stepping up to do more to help his ancient father who still has cancer. Speaking of the whole thing falling apart, the palace corresponded with an Australian republican group about what Charles would do if Aussies want a republic:
King Charles has confirmed that it is up to the Australian people to decide whether the country remains a constitutional monarchy or becomes a republic. Ahead of the King’s visit to Australia next week, the Australian Republic Movement exchanged letters with Buckingham Palace officials, writing on the King’s behalf.
Correspondence from the palace, first revealed by the Daily Mail, says that “whether Australia becomes a republic” is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.
The letter sent by palace officials restates the existing position, rather than marking any new change in policy – and Buckingham Palace is not saying anything further to the letter’s contents. But it is an amicable exchange, following a request by a group campaigning for a republic to have a meeting with the King during his visit.
“The King appreciated that you took the time to write and asked me to reply on his behalf,” says the letter from Buckingham Palace to the Australian Republic Movement, written in March. “Please be assured that your views on this matter have been noted very carefully. His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his Ministers, and whether Australia becomes a republic is therefore a matter for the Australian public to decide.” The letter adds that the King and Queen have a “deep love and affection” for Australia and “your thoughtfulness in writing as you did is warmly appreciated”.
Canada’s being pretty quiet, eh? I think Aussies will be the first ones to get a big crack at becoming a republic, and all of the other British realms will watch what happens. I hope it happens in the next decade or so. Anyway, I think the palace’s response was polite – as I said, this sh-t is barely being held together during Charles’s reign. I doubt “King William” will bother with any of this.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Britain’s King Charles III officially hands over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to Prince William, The Prince of Wales in front of an Apache helicopter at the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop, England, Monday, May 13, 2024.,Image: 872553053, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kin Cheung / Avalon
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- London, UK, 15th May 2024. The King and Queen, together with the Lord Mayor, exit St Paul’s Cathedral after the service. Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a Service of Dedication for the Order of the British Empire at St Paul’s Cathedral in London today. The ceremonial service is attended by holders of the Orders awards, as well as many others.,Image: 873161218, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter / Avalon
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- London, UK, 15th May 2024. The King and Queen, together with the Lord Mayor, exit St Paul’s Cathedral after the service. Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a Service of Dedication for the Order of the British Empire at St Paul’s Cathedral in London today. The ceremonial service is attended by holders of the Orders awards, as well as many others.,Image: 873161232, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter / Avalon
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- Trooping the Colour, The Kings’s Birthday Parade, London, UK. 15th June 2024. His Majesty, King Charles III and Queen Camilla, ride in a horse drawn carriage along The Mall.,Image: 881837529, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Supplied by AVALON – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Photo by Amanda Rose / Avalon
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- Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 July 2024: King Charles III during the Sovereign’s Garden Party held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The party is part of The King’s trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.,Image: 886704653, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Their Majesties The King and Queen attend a Service of Dedication for the Order of the British Empire at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: London, United Kingdom When: 15 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- King Charles III during a reception for Prince’s Trust Award 2024 winners, supporters and ambassadors at Buckingham Palace in London Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 22 May 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III during Trooping the Colour 2024 ceremony, marking the monarch’s official birthday Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 15 Jun 2024 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I genuinely feel bad for him. Not enough to support him, but i feel for him. And how weird is it that they don’t say what kind of cancer anyone has. Why is it a secret?
It’s probably not necessary to divulge much more ; he went to hospital for enlarged prostate surgery and a area of concern( cancer) was detected. Connecting the dots, metastasized prostate cancer?? comes to mind. What would it benefit me to know any more than that. He has a right to some medical privacy despite his position. I am not a King Charles fan but do have a spouse in a similar situation as the less people know, the better, wanting to carry on a routine without questioning from well meaning people who really don’t give a rats ass.
I thought these people had the best medical care, doctors available 24/7, so how with this top notch medical care did they not catch the cancer early and it was able to metastasized.
The palace stated specifically that it was not prostate cancer.
@Athena — there are numerous cancers that are *silent*, i.e. no symptoms until it’s at Stage IV. Mine was like that — by the time I started having symptoms my bladder cancer had metastasized and 2 surgeries and 3 rounds of chemo ensued, likely more to come. I don’t think it’s prostate cancer because he would have had symptoms (frequent peeing, a swollen feeling) as most men have yearly prostate examinations, but it could very well be bladder or colon cancer, perhaps even Hodgkin’s Disease, multiple myeloma or similar.
It’s my understanding that prostate cancer screening is not routine in the UK, and while the king can obviously avail himself of non-routine testing, is a king who is skeptical of modern medicine likely to do so? So it definitely could be prostate cancer (although I realize he has specifically denied that.)
For one, they opened up the issue by specifically denying a certain type of cancer, which is odd. For another, he is in a position to normalize living with cancer, to show that there is no shame in having any kind of cancer. There is so much talk about him being important, but he literally does nothing and makes no impact in the world for anyone or anything. But here is the one place where he could have an impact. I do think he has the right to privacy, but he gets paid millions of dollars to be a figurehead and has amassed an enormous fortune based on the false premise that he is somehow superior as a king. It’s not outrageous to think that he might do something that could help others.
The announcement of his cancer specifically said it’s not prostate cancer. I’m betting it’s bladder cancer. A non-cancerous enlarged prostate would cause the same sort of symptoms. It’s by far the likeliest cancer to be missed and then found when they were actually mucking around in there. The five year survival rate for cancer still confined to the bladder in men is around 70%.
Probably because whatever it is, if they say it out loud, they know it will sound bad to the public. The Rota absolutely knows that kind it is – I would even say publications like The NY Times or Washington Post do as well, but because journalists don’t treat this family like something that needs legit covering, we won’t know unless he collapses in Australia or something else crazy happens. But they held the line on Kate earlier this year as well, even when that got bad news-wise, so who knows.
Didn’t one of the rota make a comment to the effect of “even if we knew it was bladder cancer we wouldn’t be able to tell” which everyone assumed was the backwards way of saying it’s bladder cancer.
Lost me 100% with the “feeling bad” for this man. He’s lived almost forty years longer than Princess Diana. Nope Chuck getting the crown he craved only to never truly enjoy it is divine intervention imo.
Athena- just because someone can afford to go private for screening doesn’t mean they will. Donald Trump famously has “a distaste for all things medical”. Steve Jobs refused conventional treatment for his cancer in favour of alternative treatments. Charles is known to be skeptical of modern medicine and has long been a fan of homeopathy.
That said I’d be surprised if Charles hadn’t been encouraged to go for regular MRIs and bloodwork as part of his “job”. The problem could be that the cancer couldn’t be detected with screening (the PSA test, for example, is unreliable and gives a lot of false positives for prostate cancer), or perhaps that it’s an aggressive and fast-growing type which couldn’t be caught at its earliest stages.
The BRF do tend to live longer, healthier lives than the rest of us but money can’t always buy good health, Charles has just been unlucky.
Lily – I suspect it’s bladder cancer too. That’s where the camera goes during a prostate procedure. It’s also possible to treat bladder cancer with topical chemotherapy delivered directly into the bladder, which greatly reduces the side effects on the rest of the body. That would explain while Charles is looking (relatively) well for a chemo patient.
Whatever the type of cancer, Charles could also be having immunotherapy, which has unpleasant side effects but is generally much gentler than chemotherapy. It’s also normal to receive immunotherapy for up to two years with the occasional pause in treatment, and this fits the description of Charles’ treatment.
William could easily have gone, Kate must be over the chemotherapy by now. Mind you William did say he wasn’t interested in the Commonwealth, so that could be why he wasn’t asked. He isn’t interested in the church either so perhaps it is time to end the UK’s official religion.
William’s not sure to be the Head of the Commonwealth so it would be inappropriate for him to go to the meeting.
William would be representing Charles, as Charles did when the Queen could not in one of her last years.
@Tasmin: When Charlws was representing the Queen it was already decided that he was going to be the next Head of the Commonwealth. No such decision has been made regarding William and my guess is that the leaders will vote not to have the British monarch as the head of the Commonwealth next time.
Barring any Republican plebiscites, he is sure to be Head of State of Commonwealth Realms, like Australia.
William has those school runs
I think we (Australia), have another 15 years before it will happen. We have to wait for the current senior levels of our version of the Tory party to die out (they are currently trying to mount a resurgence with a few billionaires helping them). Although if William is on the throne within 10 years, all bets are off
Sorry if this man needs 2doctors he shouldn’t be doing a 24hr flight and wandering about AUstralia. Most of his subject cannot even get an appointment with a doctor .As usual royals are tone deaf.
I doubt he ever had cancer in the first place.
Can you imagine being heir and willingly choosing not to trot around the globe first class doing charity work, whivh would include rugby, cricket and football in his dumbed down itinerary? Something really is wrong with Willy. The Aussies may hold back on becoming a Republic because of Charles’s condition/pity, but won’t show the same restraint when Willy the Basher becomes King.
The monarch traveling with his/her own blood is weird. Is it that the Royal Family think they’re so special that getting blood from a pleb would be sacrilegious? As for the letter, this shows the close relationship that the Palace has with the DM. Why did the DM get the exclusive? A letter like that should have given to all the press or the Palace should have given the Australian Republicans permission to release it to the public. You can see why the Palace saw no problem with the DM publishing Meghan’s letter to her father or telling the Telegraph about Meghan’s response to Charles’ letter.
Routine blood transfusion are far more closely matched than emergency transfusions. What I wonder about is, did they take it from him recently while he is seriously ill.
“Red cells are stored in refrigerators at 6ºC for up to 42 days. Platelets are stored at room temperature in agitators for up to five days. Plasma and cryo are frozen and stored in freezers for up to one year.”
Red Cross.
I would think him being a cancer patient he would be unable to use his own blood at the moment. So I don’t believe that he’s traveling with his own blood. My issue was the notion of him traveling with his own blood at all and the connotation that he wouldn’t want blood from a stranger.
I agree, Amy Bee, I think it’s weird & I never heard of such a thing before. How are they able to keep the blood properly stored, at all times? The Queen used to take long trips, to some fairly remote places; Charles, too. I don’t believe a word of it.
Monarchs from the BRF routinely travel with their own blood, the Queen and Charles have regularly done it. It’s also possible to have your own blood stored for travel if doctors deem it safe. They also travel with doctors routinely, just all part and parcel of being royal.
The palace (Charles & Willy) keeps proving H&M right with the constant, obsessive leaking and briefing of private, sensetive info/correspondance about/of others to the British tabloids/press.
I’ve never seen any other monarchy in this universe operating in such a petty and unprofessional way.
I live in Canberra (but born in Sydney hence the name) and ugh…I am not looking forward to the visit.
Even though it’s the capital, it’s known as the bush capital because 5mins from anywhere in Canberra is semi-rural. This visit will cause traffic chaos.
And also…like many Aussies…just not a fan of the BRF I’m afraid.
I feel a bit sorry for Charles. None of the State Premiers want to meet him. ‘Celebrity’ guests & local persons of note aren’t interested in meeting him either.
I saw that – absolutely hilarious. Every State Premier yawned and said “nah, I’m good”.
When has that EVER happened? It’s giving ‘fired on live TV in Jamaica’, tbh.
Meanwhile Bev McArthur, spokeswoman for the Australian Monarchists League, was in full pearl clutch mode. She said the blanking of the monarch by the State Premiers was “A monumental insult”.
He ditched his first wife
He ditched his youngest son, DIL, and grandchildren
And then he got ditched by half the Caribbean and now Australia.
I don’t feel sorry for him one bit. All of this – everything he is experiencing right now, is his karma biting him in the arse. His jealousy caused him to choose to shun those who should have been nearest & dearest to him. He publicly attacks his DIL and son weekly, daily, through proxies – and the world knows it. The world is now standing up and judging him on what sort of man he is. And he has been found profoundly wanting in many respects.
Best way to punish a narcissist like Cluck is to Not Give Him The Time Of Day.
Eh, no sympathy here for his being a monarch at all. I do empathize with anyone who is fighting cancer, because that disease just effing sucks.
I wonder when KC had blood taken in order to cover the amount for a transfusion. That seems intense. We just saw my FIL yesterday and he’s struggling to gain weight (he’s lost almost 50 kg this year), he had caught whooping cough from someone who wasn’t vaccinated and still struggles with it almost a half year later, and like KC, he has terrible coloring. And is in pain and constant rounds of chemo. Something about Australia must really speak to KC for him to want to go through all this.
I just don’t think a person undergoing chemo would be allowed to have pints of blood taken. Per the American Red Cross, depending on the type of cancer you had, you’re not allowed to donate blood. And if you had a type of cancer that allows for it, you still have to wait 12 months after finishing treatment to donate. So I don’t believe Charles is traveling with his own blood. He’s been under treatment for a long time.
I think they mean donate blood to be used by someone else. The royals generally do travel with their own blood and with their own doctors, Charles did that pre-cancer and so did the Queen & Prince Philip. But of course you can never believe any of the stuff from BP or KP. I think it may be a ploy to garner sympathy so the Australian press and republicans don’t go too hard on him.
I just don’t think there’ll be the turnout in crowds they think they’ll get.
We’ve just come off two weeks of school holidays – no-one is going to be taking the time off to see Charles.
He doesn’t have the attention QEII got. I think it really bothers him.
I think this will be his last tour he’s going to Australia just to try his last effort to keep it. The monarchy was going to fall once Charles got it anyway specially how he treated Harry and Megan. He couldn’t put his own jealousy of his son behind him in order to put the monarchy first.
Absolutely spot on. His position now is a result of all his poor choices. He did not back Harry and Meghan, he did not support their work, he allowed William and the press to drive them away. Imagine King Charles as a force to be reckoned with, standing with Harry, supporting Meghan, telling the press to knock it off, confident, decisive, he would be glowing with good press and good will.
“he allowed KM, William and the press to drive them away”. I’d add KM into that sentence as she really was instrumental in H&M leaving.
I think there are some who still resent how he treated Diana and made his side piece a “queen” too. There is really nothing appealing about him. He is less workshy that his son and DIL, but not by much. And all of the rumors of the suitcases of cash and the very real amassing of property is disgusting when the people continue to suffer.
Let’s not forget the part Camilla has been playing behind the scenes. It was always to her benefit to drive wedges between W, H, & Chuck. Yes the Windsor Jealousy Gene was a factor w/king & heir, but she pours gasoline on the fire whenever possible.
Chuck listens to her because he’s a weak, insecure man.
It’s probably his last tour period. He’s trying to squeeze in as much life & ‘work’ as he can because he knows he just doesn’t have that much time left. Didn’t help matters that he got his job so late in life.
He’s going to be in with crowds. Will the man wear a mask.
No way. He’s super conservative and courts those right-wing racists, there is no way he will wear a mask, even if it kills him.
Is Charles up to date with vaccinations. He’s very vulnerable nowm
I’ve been told by my oncologists to avoid getting flu shots or covid boosters right now as I undergo chemo. I have to wait until 2 or 3 weeks after treatment finishes which means I can’t get vaccinated until the middle of December. It sucks.
The doctors at least have a purpose to be there and he’s not lying about it as opposed to when Carole Middleton got a free trip to Australia under cover despite the nanny travelling with George as well.
I dearly wish I had wealth or power.
The idea of 2 personal Drs traveling with a person.
How about KC just stays home instead?
Try getting seen in a GP clinic with your own PCP these days, damn near impossible even with 2 types of insurance.
As George Carlin said “It’s a big club, and you ain’t it”
Commonwealth [of Nations] Realm. Australia will unlikely become a republic because of our reluctance to alter our Constitution (1900). There have only been 6 referenda passed since federation in 1901. It has nothing to do with the popularity or not of the monarchy.
My Canadian friends say the same about Canada. No nation wants to start over developing a new constitution right now as long as things are going well enough. It’s not like the monarch has any real power so they will just let it exist to avoid upheaval of the whole constitution.
Meredith, it would be a big constitutional change, particularly with all the indigenous crown agreements that would have to be renegotiated. As for things going well enough, unfortunately we do have two different provinces braying about separation, Alberta and Quebec. As an Albertan I think both the monarchy should be removed as our Head of State and the Alberta leadership should give its collectives heads a shake.
I think it’s funny/ ironic. Would that be the correct usage of situational irony? That Charles waited this long and now he possibly isn’t able to enjoy his reign in the way that he’d like. Mostly, I wish he was able to be a better father and grandfather to his kids, not just Camilla’s. This man has gone out of his way to make the world more dangerous for Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lili. Until he makes that right, I just can’t summon up too much more than the basic empathy I try to give all humans. He makes it really hard. He does not act as a person who cares if his son and his son’s family suffer or come to a terrible outcome. In fact, he acts as someone who has been engineering it. Unfortunately.
For all its privilege, I don’t think Charles’s life has been a happy one. I don’t think he’s known joy; perhaps it’s part of why he couldn’t understand Diana or Harry or Meghan. I wonder if he thought something would change when he finally got the crown, only to find that he was still the same person with more restrictions on his life.
As a teen, Charles went to a school in Australia for several months. He has described this period of his life as a happy one. Maybe his positive experiences in Australia in the past are partly behind him prioritizing this tour now.
You are describing a narcissist. They can’t understand this emotion in other people and try to rob it and/or destroy it.
Charles ruined Diana’s life, makes Harry’s and Meghan’s and their children’s lives under threat as a fact of life, took advantage of his mother’s ailing health, and is probably not honoring any requests she made all for Camilla, he appears to be a conniving divisive force. I imagine he was bullied by Philip, who probably ruined his life by sending him to Gordonstoun. However, the point is he has not overcome it. Meghan and Harry live productive lives and are good and kind and generous, despite the smearing and the bullying. I can only conclude that Charles has not any character or gumption. He is a bully himself now. The one positive thing I would say is that he was a productive heir and tried to use his position for good.
Charles ruined his own life. Philip did not force him to behave badly to his first wife. Charles never took any personal responsibility for his bad choices
Prince Philip and the Queen Mother bullied Charles into marriage with Diana. He was constantly being told he had to produce the heir and the spare.
Those royals need to relinquish control of the Commonwealth countries. Many of these countries only remained because of the respect for their Queen. Charles and the remaining folks do not command this type of respect. Britain is no longer an empire and is sinking to third world status fast. They cannot or are not taking care of their own subjects and the UN had to step in to provide food for many of their subjects.
It is sad from a humanitarian perspective to see a once robust economy and country sink this low so fast.
We have a tendency to vote for parties that are the opposite of Robin Hood.
Two things that stand out to me: TQ always traveled with pints of her own blood???? Since when?? I’ve read a lot of history & biography & gossip, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard that. So, how does that work? Here’s your crown, your scepter, your anointing with holy water, now please step behind this curtain so that we can take a pint of your blood, have you eaten anything today? Really???
And second: they’re not planning any evening engagements for Charles in Australia due to his health; but the second he lands in Samoa he’s going to a state banquet??? WTF? That’s the last thing I’d want to do after such a long flight, even one for which I had my own plane with an actual bed. They write gibberish & don’t even realize it.
I just read a detailed article in Vanity Fair about it, they did and do indeed travel with their own blood and doctors. Heaven forbid they have to have some foreign blood tainting the royal blood lines or some foreign doctor examining them. SMH…
Theyve really thought through all the ins and odds on why theyre special. these people are INSANE. What could be more extreme than carrying around their own blood?? So Harry wasnt exaggerating even a little bit about his organs being for William either
Fun fact: the US presidents also travel with pints of their blood type. There was an article about how the presidential car “the beast” has a refrigerated compartment with it. So maybe they mean they travel with Charles’s blood type and not his actual blood.
Wild, that’s just wild to me.