We heard this week that King Charles plans to pause his chemotherapy treatments for more than a week. Charles and Camilla plan to travel to Australia and Samoa, and they leave next week (I think), and they’ll be away for something like eleven or twelve days. Charles’s treatment is weekly, from what we can tell, and he’s been making a point of going to London mid-week for a day for those treatments. It feels like a somewhat big deal that the palace confirmed that Charles is pausing his treatments for his travels. It also feels like a big deal that the palace is confirming that Charles will not go to the Cop29 climate summit next month.
The King will not attend the Cop29 climate summit being hosted by Azerbaijan in November amid his cancer treatment. The monarch has long campaigned on environmental issues but will be absent from the United Nations gathering being held in the oil-rich state from Nov11 to 22.
The head of state has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since early in 2024 and the global climate change conference will begin just over two weeks after the King and Queen’s long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa ends.
Sources told the Daily Mirror “an abundance of caution” is needed with the monarch’s current schedule. A source told the newspaper: “He has not been asked by the Government to attend the event and he is also mindful of his own commitments following the upcoming autumn tour.” The source added the King would have “relished the chance to attend” but he is “incredibly busy already…A decision was taken for His Majesty not to attend the conference this year.”
The overseas tour has been curtailed on doctor’s advice, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary and other changes to the programme.
The start of Cop29 coincides with Remembrance Day, and the Windsors really spread Remembrance events throughout the entire month of November. Meaning, that excuse was right there and they didn’t take it. They could have just said “the king’s priority is on Remembrance events, not traveling to Azerbaijan.” They also could have blamed Downing Street and claimed that Keir Starmer suggested that the king stay home. It’s interesting that instead of those excuses, they’re going with “he’s not going to pause his chemotherapy again to do Cop29.”
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s King Charles talks with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, Britain July 18, 2024.,Image: 890682967, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Hollie Adams / Avalon
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- King Charles III during a visit to the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen’s 200th Flower Show at Duthie Park, Aberdeen. Picture date: Saturday August 31, 2024.,Image: 903558336, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- Braemar Gathering highland games at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Braemar, United Kingdom When: 07 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Braemar Gathering highland games at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park Featuring: KIng Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Braemar, United Kingdom When: 07 Sep 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, for a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Balmoral, United Kingdom When: 08 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, for a Sunday church service Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Balmoral, United Kingdom When: 08 Sep 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
But, William is all about the climate, right? Earthshot and all? Surely he would be an ideal rep in Dad’s place?
Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
The thing is the royals going to COP is a new phenomenon that only started after Harry and Meghan left so there should be no expectation for these people to attend this meeting. Wasn’t the refrain that the UN was political? That was the reason given for Meghan giving up her role at UN women. I would expect Earthshot as an NGO to be there though.
Royalty in and of itself is not the reason, because Maxima has been involved with the UN for years. https://www.unsgsa.org/
KC looks unhealthy. If he doesn’t want to attend an event, anyone who has eyes and empathy will understand why he’s not there. If it’s important, it is William’s duty as heir and placeholder to attend.
@ML: I should have been more specific. I meant British royals. I know that other European royals participate and have roles at the UN.
My very first thought when I read this. Shouldn’t Willy, that great champion of the environment, so enthusiastic about the causethat he created a “prestigious” prize, go in his Pa’s place? I guess not. Apparently there won’t be any footie or rose bushes to prune in Azerbaijan, so why would he?
But he has the school run, he can’t possibly go anywhere.
William cannot make speeches, he would look very weak as a replacement for Charles who delivers great speeches.
Yeah… doesn’t William see himself as the great global statesman? Something is telling me the King hasn’t asked him to take this on. That the queen had more trust to invite Charles to step in for her during international events than Charles trusts William should be a huge story.
William is the male equivalent of Ivanka Trump — she’d show up at G7 and other high level political gatherings and they’d all smirk, roll their eyes and ignore her. Charles is proving again and again that he can’t trust William to do more than the simplest ribbon-cutting, sports-related, stopping-for-a-pint kind of fluff. He realizes his son is an unprepared doofus and a liability at these global events.
William can’t go because then Kate will have to go to some Remembrance Day events solo and we all know she needs these on her calendar to appear as if she is working.
If the Government hasn’t asked him to go to COP29 then was he never planning to go anyway. This is press trying to make a bigger story out of nothing. I still maintain as Head of State the public should know everything about his diagnosis and treatment. As it is it would seem that Charles’s diagnosis is worse than Kate’s if he’s still doing chemo but the fact is the Palace had chosen not to disclose his health situation. He should be getting as much criticism as Kate is, perhaps even more.
I wouldn’t assume that Charles’s prognosis is worse than Kate’s (though I tend to agree) just on the length of treatment. It really depends on the modality, which treatment is used for the length. Some are short cycles, others cover months. Maintenance therapy, for example for bladder cancer (which I’m way too familiar with) can cover up to 3 years.
Yep, completely made up story by the rats. The government hadn’t asked him to go, so he was never planning on it. Other commitments or no, he wasn’t going to go.
As William has said (according to the press) that he is not interested in the Commonwealth it might be that the King thinks this is the important one, especially if he is unlikely to have a long life, he is head of the Commonwealth so they will have to think about who to have next. I have wondered about Harry as the majority of Commonwealth citizens are brown skinned and the heads of the Commonwealth states know that Harry isn’t a racist. It would be nice if it were offered to him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want it.
No, Harry should not be involved in the Commonwealth. In fact there should be no royals there at all. Hopefully after Charles there will be a rotating head chosen from the heads of government not a royal figure head. Charles only got the position because his mother asked that the leaders elect him as Head after she dies.
My reading of the tea leaves is that they are keeping Chaz’s chemo in the public consciousness because he probably won’t stop needing chemo to keep on chugging. From my perspective, 10 months is quite a long time for on-going treatments, especially if there is a reasonable expectation for recovery or remission. OR… the break for the CHOGM tour, marks the end of round 1 and he is taking a break (which often happens) and is heading into round 2 … which means any recent tests show cancer still present and/or growing. I think the press are trying to walk a fine line about acknowledging the illness without being dire. I mean look at the Queen. I think that is the model they have going forward and Chazz will basically be working one day and die the next.
I think the telling part of this is that the government has not asked the King to attend. I recall that right after Charles was crowned the government of the day didn’t allow him to attend one of these conferences and he was quite put out, so much so that the government relented and allowed him to host a reception at BP for the attendees. The fact that the government didn’t ask him, tells me that the monarch and heir are having their wings clipped.
So he won’t go to Cop29 “because of chemo” but he’s going to the other side of the planet but will pause chemo for that? I’m confused.
@ Kelleybelle Cancer survivor here who had chemo. They will pause it but it’s best if you don’t do it often so the two weeks in Australia are probably all he will do. I had mine paused for some bloodwork they weren’t happy with so pausing can be done.
I see, thanks. I wish you well, Susan. I’m still on the fence as to whether he actually has it/had it; same goes for Kate.
I don’t believe either one at this point but if he is he has been on chemo for a long period of time and we still don’t know exactly what kind he has.
I expect the King has it, he’s that sort of age and he does seem to have aged quickly over the last year, he is only a few months older than I am, but he looks ancient. Kate? who knows.
Just how long is he going to be getting treatments? Funny how he pauses them for some events but not for others. Once again getting the feeling that the public is being played.