There seems to be some indication that King Charles has already been in the hospital for his “procedure” for an enlarged prostate. I thought it was supposed to happen early this week, then they said it would be happening on Wednesday? I don’t know, but perhaps the palace will issue a statement in due time. For now, royal sources are still pushing back on any talk of Charles “slowing down.” Someone told the Telegraph that he will be “back up and running” after a temporary period of “enforced rest” and he will be “raring to go once he’s had a short period of recuperation.” Still, other royal sources told the Daily Beast that the mood in Buckingham Palace is “subdued.” Perhaps even grim.
The mood at Buckingham Palace has been “subdued” ahead of King Charles’ admission to hospital this week, according to one insider, with a friend of the king’s adding that his treatment for an enlarged prostate has come as an “unwelcome reminder” of the king’s advanced age, and the inevitably short duration of his reign compared to that of his mother.
A former courtier who remains in contact with old colleagues told The Daily Beast: “The mood at the palace is, unsurprisingly, subdued. The enlargement of the prostate may be benign, but treatment isn’t a small thing. The king could be off games [out of action] for a month or so.”
The palace, of course, have sought to play down the impact of the hospitalization on the king, with sources telling the Daily Telegraph and the Sun that the king will be “raring to go” after the procedure and working from home while recuperating. However, the reality is that the longer Charles is absent from public-facing duties, the more calls he will face to accept a wholesale change in pace.
One longstanding friend of the family told The Daily Beast: “Charles is an older man. He was 73 when his mother died, so even if he lives to 100 he is not even close to half of his mother’s reign [70 years]. I’m afraid the prostate problems are an unwelcome reminder of those simple facts.”
The new king has spent the 16 months since Queen Elizabeth’s death in a frenzied blur of activity. Charles, often described as a workaholic by his family, undertook 516 public engagements last year, including 94 abroad.
Charles will have no choice but to take his foot off the pedal in the short term, of course. The fact that the king is going in for a procedure, rather than using medication such as inhibitor drugs, which can shrink the prostate within a few weeks, suggests that he might be opting for a treatment such as transurethral needle ablation (which was recently approved by the NHS in the U.K.) or laser therapy. While the bulk of recovery in such cases can often take just a few days to a week, it can take several weeks to fully recover and notice improvement in symptoms.
Once we learned more about how common these prostate procedures are, I kind of understood why the palace was downplaying it. I believe Charles will be fine, although I believe they’re overestimating how soon Charles will be back at work and “raring to go.” He is still a 75 year old man. The larger problem for the palace is that with William and Kate hitting pause on their schedule, it really is just Queen Camilla out there as the face of the monarchy.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- King Charles III and the Camilla Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Colchester Castle to mark Colchester’s recently awarded city status. Featuring: King Charles III and Camilla Queen Consort Where: Colchester, England, United Kingdom When: 07 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla take a seat on a bench designed by pupils from Belfast’s Blythefield Primary School who have taken part in Historic Royal Palaces’ competition to design Coronation benches at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla meets Khadijah Mellah winner of the 2019 Magnolia Cup during a visit to The British Racing School in Newmarket, Suffolk, to mark their 40th anniversary. Over the past four decades it has trained thousands of people and equipped them with the skills to excel in Britain’s second biggest spectator sport, horse racing. Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Newmarket, United Kingdom When: 01 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Reception at Buckingham Palace in London to celebrate the Windrush Generation, and mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush. Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III during a visit to the Discovery Centre and Auld School Close in Tomintoul, to hear more about the £3.3million energy efficient housing project in the area. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Tomintoul, Scotland, United Kingdom When: 13 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Orly Airport, Paris, at the start of the State Visit to France. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Paris, France When: 20 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III gestures to members of the public gathered outside the Hotel de Ville in Bordeaux on day three of the state visit to France. The visit celebrates the strong and historic ties between Bordeaux and the UK Featuring: King Charles III Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla during a visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux, to learn about about sustainable vineyard practices in the Bordeaux wine producing region, on day three of the state visit to France. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive to attend a dinner at Mansion House in London, to recognise the work of the City of London civic institutions and Livery Companies, the city’s ancient and modern trade guilds. Featuring: King George III, Camilla Queen Consort Where: London, United Kingdom When: 18 Oct 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
My take from this is this is BP giving KP (and the Middleton’s) a master class in PR. I also notice they are not rushing to bail out or prop up KP’s sh!tshow in any way.
How the different palaces are handling this is really telling – even Fergie showed KP up.
That’s how I’ve looked at it. I know some see Charles’ pr announcement as giving a distraction for Kate’s initial health announcement and maybe that was part of it. But it felt pointedly different; as if they were saying and this is how you do it. So maaaybe it gave some cover but it also gave shade imo.
I think so too. They’re clearly authorizing this talk about his procedure and trying to be as transparent as possible – he wants to come back right away, he may need extra time, etc.
Also, Charles’ work ethic in general means that people will give him more of a pass than Kate here, I think. If he’s taking off 3 weeks and canceling appointments and meetings etc, then I think people know that he really needs that time off.
(“work ethic” within the context of royal work.)
Frankly, if they’re switching the goal post to that he will now be out at least a month, I’m thinking it IS prostate cancer. My dad had it around age 75; he opted for removal (so as to get “all” the cancer w/no chance of spread). He was in the hospital about 5 days, then home to recover for 3-4 wks.
For needle aspiration, even at Charles’ age, he’s not going to need at least a month of downtime.
Btwn him and Kitty, quite a few things are not Kosher at the Palace(s).
This is the perfect opportunity for Peg to show the people what a great king/statesman he’ll be. I find it very odd that he chooses to hide behind his wife’s illness.
!!!! gosh if he had 2 working braincells he’d know this is the time to be seen more than ever.
The only way you’re going to see William step up is if Charles tries to make a deal for Harry to make a 1 month return. Then William will be all over it.
I don’t believe she’s unwell at all… Something is afoot….
@Lulu … LOL! I came here to say the same thing. If Charles even hints that he might be forced to bring Harry back as a working royal for a limit time it would drive William nuts. He’d rush to so “No need, ‘I’ can stand in for the King.”
Reminds me of the home video released in the last month of Diana trying to coax young William into the house (Diana was holding Harry, who was quietly watching William with his head against her shoulder, so maybe William was 4-ish?). She asked him a couple of times to come into the house and he ignored her, so she said “Okay, then Harry will have all the fun” and William started screaming “No, no!” running toward the door, with an angry little face.
Diana definitely figured out early the best way to get William to do what she wanted (sad that she had to play him against his brother), and I’ll bet Charles knows that secret as well.
I was going to say the same thing.. this man will never step up and it is becoming glaringly obvious just how propped up he has been by those around him. Calling him a statesman is laughable, you can barely call him an adult.
As much as Williams wants the perks of the top job, I think he is actually terrified of being king. Everytime there is a moment for William to step and live up to his statesman PR, he runs away. I think William will completely fall apart if/when he becomes king. It’s why they need Harry to “shoulder the burden.”
If he is having TURP, average return to work is 1-2 weeks. Is he having a prostatectomy or are they amping up the drama to compete with W&K and their extended time off? Maybe they are worried about incontinence after the procedure?
I know a couple of men who’ve had that procedure. It was a day or two in the hospital, a catheter for a day or so, back to work in a week or two, no heavy lifting for 4-6 weeks and take it easy on the bike and horse riding. Of course, it depends on Charles’ overall health, too. But, if Charles’ “work” is reading reports and sitting at a desk, then he should be able to get back to it sooner than later.
They want people to care about them so bad. A prostratectomy isn’t a major operation and doesn’t require a long admission. They need to stop blowing things out of proportion
The most hated member of the family is the new face. The staffers are right to be unhappy
Camilla is the UK’s karma for all the evil they’ve done since Diana’s time. Everybody accepted it, now, they get their prize: Chuck’s ho is in charge.
Subdued because they know Charles reign isn’t going to be long and Will has turned out to be a total dud. The monarchy is ready to fall. Do the British people like Kate as much as the Daily Mail makes it out like they do? I can’t see the monarchy surviving for very long if Will and Kate divorce. Or am I totally wrong?
There’s no affection for any remaining member of the royal family like there was for Diana and Elizabeth, the monarchy will survive if Kate and William divorce, the papers will as always tell majority of the population what to think and will protect the crown as much as possible.
Charles got a divorce from a consort with a work ethic who was very popular. William has the option to divorce kate.
I think you are wrong. This is a 1000-year institution that bolsters an entire class system and political structure.
France also had a long term monarchy that bolstered a class system and political structure. And said goodbye to it. Calling the current style of monarchy a 1000 year institution is somewhat misleading since there were different kingdoms that split or merged at various times and the monarchy has been slowly losing power during that time. They should be happy to be going out slowly with a whimper instead of a bang like in Russia or France.
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. One of the things working against monarchy in the 21st century is human longevity. By the time the monarch leaves this earthly realm, the heir is already too old for the peasants to take seriously. In the 21st century, monarchy can only work when the monarch is young and vital or, like QEII, has aged on the job. Even the courtiers know this is a problem, and if Charles lives another 20 years, it will be a problem for William too.
Kate is popular solely because when most people think of Kate they just think, shiny hair, cute kids, keeps her mouth shut. The average Brit has no idea of any of the stuff thats discussed here because we just don’t care.
I don’t think Americans understand how deeply embedded monarchy is in our entire political system, our financial system, our postal system, everything. Americans often seem to think that if the royals are a bit crap that we’ll just go “nah get rid” but that’s simply not how it works.
Removing the monarchy would destroy our entire political system (we quite literally would have no protocol for passing laws without monarchy, since we’d have to get rid of the House of Lords too), we would literally, LITERALLY have to build a whole entire political system completely from scratch, build an entire system of legislature entirely from scratch, we’d have to figure out if we want a presidential system and what that looks like and how it operates. And the House of Lords and many highly influential and very wealthy people who run the country would never allow that anyway. Even if 99% of the population turned into die hard republicans overnight, the HoL would never permit a referendum.
Moving all our currency and postal systems and all the other structures of Britain that are based on a monarchy-parliamentary system would cost billions and take years of extreme upheaval.
There’s just no way the British people would ever, ever vote for a complete destruction of our entire political and legislative system just because Will is workshy because no one expects royals to be anything other than show ponies.
Because no one cares. That’s what Americans don’t understand. The only people who take an active interest in royals are American. With the exception of the tiny minority of (mainly elderly) royalists, 99%Brits honestly regard royals like pigeons: just kind of there.
All William has to do to be an uncontroversial if mediocre king is perform the few basic annual duties (opening Parliament, Trooping) and not cause any massive scandals. That’s literally it. Bear in mind Charles got caught very publicly cheating on his wife who was beloved by the public, had his wife go on national TV to call him a cheater then go on to die violently under mysterious circumstances, then he married his mistress, and it still didn’t cause a position-challenging scandal; William would need a scandal many magnitudes bigger than that to threaten his position.
I honestly can’t imagine anything short of Will being outed as a cannibalistic serial killer that would convince the British public to throw ourselves into destroying our entire political system and into years of chaos that would cost billions, and even if we did, the people passing those laws are the ones part of the monarchal system being threatened.
ITA with everything you say @SamuelWhiskers. 🙂 I would also add that even if William does F Up in a big way there’s still George, and if not George then Charlotte, then Louis. That’s the whole point of heirs and spares, they’re there to maintain the system.
I forgot to say, the British press will protect the monarchy till the very end. And they’ll keep making up lies and abuse towards H&M to use them as scapegoats. If Wank ever get divorced, they’ll turn on Kate and scapegoat her, too.
Once the Cambridge children are mid-late teens, the press will start to throw Charlotte and Louis under a bus to protect and bolster George. The minute Charlotte turns 16 we’ll get stories about her being a wild child, nightclubs, speculation about her dating. If they go on holiday, get jobs, don’t get jobs, dress too boring or too wacky, that’s a story. The press will probably try to find ways to attack Archie and Lilli too, especially if they grow up to be anything other than complete recluses! If either/both pursue careers in entertainment, philanthropy, or even do something normal like have social media accounts, the British tabs will exploit that as content and a way to push the white royals up by pushing someone else down. And so the cycle continues.
The press will defend and protect the institution of monarchy, lie to the public, manipulate a narrative and brainwash the public, just as long as royals continue to be a source of content.
The British public are honestly sheep, and also just really scared. We care about the COL crisis, the Russian war and threat of conscription, collapse of the NHS. Brexit. Monarchy is the last thing on anyone’s minds.
All very true, but what about keeping a monarchy but not paying for it? I wonder what would happen if it was decided (by whom?) to no longer pay the CL? Would the Windsors still want to be monarchs? Perhaps they would, title only, no work. If no longer paying the CL was accompanied by taking back the properties and items that the family does not privately own, I wonder how the Windsors would behave?
I get what you’re saying, Samuelwhiskers. It would be a huge, expensive years long hassle to get rid of the monarchy. As for it costing billions to abolish it, the monarchy itself costs billions thus contributing to all the problems you cite as what the British public is concerned about. If the British public are sheep, as you say, maybe it’s time to stop being sheep and take control away from royalty and artistos because none of the problems you mentioned can be solved with a monarchy in place. In many ways, monarchy is the root of GB’s problems.
Of course you could get rid of the monarchy. America did it, remember?
@roooth And France, Italy, Russia, Germany, Greece, Portugal.
SamuelWhiskers, but if I understand correctly, all that’s needed is one person. The King or Queen–whichever is applicable. That’s it.
The reset of the family could be brought up to support themselves and not ask the taxpayer for money. The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall could revert to the people as can everything else. The Monarchy would continue and would still do what it’s doing now. I think that’s really the story. All of the money for the pomp and circumstance is simply wasted.
Kate isn’t the monarchy though. It’s Charles then William. Outside of the Uk the consorts are irrelevant and have no constitutional role. So if it’s just to play happy family well we all saw how Diana was replaced. Kate can be replaced as well. The kids are born so her job is done.
There is no need for William to stay married to Kate because he can be king without her around.
A great summation of the situation. I’ll add that not that many Americans care about the RF, either.
So, if only 1% pf the British population cares about the RF (I presume the press and royal experts are included in this figure) then why should the RF worry if they’re seen to be racist or lazy or dimwitted? And then the idea that Charles will jump because Andrew “knows where the bodies are buried” becomes nonsensical. Even if those bodies turn out to be the dinner remains of William The Serial Killer, there’s always George to take over the throne.
Yes, as a Brit, I totally agree. We are as the saying goes a republic with a crown on. The royal family is embedded; it would be root and branch reform to get them out. William would have to be I don’t know what to end the monarchy. I think even a divorced William could carry on, particularly if the public thought of him as the sole saviour. The monarchy would function better with a PoW but he could carry on. I do think if the BRF doesn’t get the twist needed to be better at working there will be more of the “lazy” criticism. The queen definitely had more respect than nowadays. And more impact. That is where they are losing out – no one really cares about them anymore outside of tabloid land. They are becoming culturally irrelevant to a degree; Charles acknowledges this with his slimmed down stuff. But the idea that we can just ditch them does not align with our government, our money, some of our public services, and our legal system – my family of lawyers flinches at the very idea that we could easily push them out. For centuries we were kings and queens and then a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Do I like the tax breaks and the duchies etc. No. There is a lot of unearned money swimming about in that family. Do I think they are at odds with meritocracy. Yes, to a certain extent. Did I read And What Do You Do? and nod my head. Yes. But the BRF going would cause chaos. And they are ignorable. Most people outside of here in my life do not even talk about them! At all. In some respects that’s where they win out; for vast numbers they are just wallpaper. They don’t ruffle feathers for people not invested in their lives. I loved Diana growing up. I loved the queen. I am not denying it, as a tiny kid she felt special. I was never at all interested in Kate and William. I knew nothing about them beyond having seen their wedding. The point at which I picked up was Meghan. Here was vibrancy. I thought the BRF was going to get exciting again. I have residual anger that she’s gone. And sadness that Harry has gone, too. He was the special one, with a humanity about him.
So it’s hard, so what? Still doable.
You make excellent points. But just because monarchy is entrenched doesn’t mean it can’t be reformed. There’s no reason it should be this expensive, for example, or so financially opaque. The monarchy can be defunded: crown properties, including the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, can be returned to the public. The monarch and his/her consort can be given an annual stipend, from which they support their family. All other expenses, like running the palaces, becomes a public function; palace staff become public servants, like civil servants of any democracy. Monarchial terms can be limited to so many years. The Queen’s/King’s consent can be abolished. The next in line /heir can be selected from a list—or, better yet, elected, by the public.
The House of Lords can be further reformed and its powers can be further constrained.
Current loopholes in inheritance taxation can be closed, to further defang the upper classes.
And it’s a face no one likes. It serves them right that the only one of the senior royals available to work is the least liked person in the family. For all her embiggening by the press she is still largely disliked. No wonder they’re “subdued”.
I think Will and Camilla are putting the information out there:” Charles is old and should abdicate” v. “Charles will soon be back at work, unlike Kate and Will.”
With Camilla’s biographer hinting at Kate’s ED and mental health, I think Camilla wants to bring Will down a peg and squash any whispers of abdication.
Yes, nothing says “we are still a powerful monarchy” like having the mistress as your public face for quite some period of time.
If Charles lives go the age of his parents he’d see his silver jubilee (25 years).
So why isn’t his heir sparing some time yo help his father. His mother was married with young children when she helped out her father who was ill.
Charles and Kate had a knock down drag out fight about who is more white, and they are both recovering from their injuries in hospital.
LMAO! Celebrity Cagematch: Royal edition!
@Genie: Can’t stop giggling. Just… can’t… stop… 🙂
I can believe that.
The palaces are at odds and it is a joy to watch. It’s not ok that two of them are suffering medical problems. They are supposed to be a unit but the left hand doesn’t know what the right one is doing and they are each putting out different accounts of what is going on. I think BP is subdued because he has let his number one son always do what he wanted and now he is left with a lazy brat that has no interest in helping Chuckles while he is down. Yes Can’t is having something but that doesn’t mean Peg can’t do his part to help but again he is lazy and hides behind whatever it is she is going through to get out of work.
It’s all falling down, humpty dumpty has taken a recking ball of karma to this horrible family and all the kings horses and all the kings men, really couldn’t give a stuff if its never put together again!!
For all the media embigging of keen it hasn’t had the effect they wanted. More and more people are asking “why do we pay for this family?”. They are not value for money, and between Charlie and his heir people have decided they can live without them.
MaryPester 💯!!
The whole train of thought makes no sense. Charles would need this procedure if he had been king for the last 50 years. It has nothing to do with the length of his reign. He is an older man who will undergo routine surgery. Always concern about anesthesia no matter the surgery.
The Firm and Rigid have only themselves to blame if matters are coming to a head now through poor planning and no strategic thinking. E2 and C3 did and do the numbers but WK never have and never will. They are subdued because of Will’s failure to just continue working with a rearranged schedule so he is easily within reach of Kate and the children. Monarchy is about continuity and the late Queen said I have to be seen to be believed and her mantra was always keep calm and carry. How resilient is Will, his staff and family will know how he copes in a crisis, usually RF are expected to carry on as normal no matter what else is going on. Is he overwhelmed about Kate and the expectation that he stand in while his pensioner dad for a couple of months? Has Will withdrawn because he is overwhelmed? The Firm will always protect the Monarch and heir and they are doing so now. I don’t think we are being told the truth about either Kate or Will but I can understand people in the know being subdued as the current crisis doesn’t bode well for their own jobs which depend upon the continuation of the Monarchy.
Eh, he’ll still be back out there doing something in a week or two. Maybe not travelling to Wales to do 3-4 handshake/opening events in a day, but he’ll make himself visible in some way. This is too easy of a time to get a front page while W&K are out of commission.
The surgery is quite routine. There’s a worry of pain/incontinence afterwards, but both of my grandfathers had a TURP (albeit in their 60s, but through the VA, so they probably didn’t get the best of surgeries) and were back and at it in 2 weeks. My paternal grandpa built me a whole bookshelf the week after his TURP.
As little as I think of KCIII, there’s nothing in his past behavior to make me think he’ll wring out health issues to get out of work. He’d have used them to get out of parenting or other familial duties–that checks out–but not work. (Chuck would’ve made a great American male middle-manager in the 1950s…)
So, barring complication, we’ll see him in the next week or two.
Kaiser, I disagree: from the coverage I’ve seen so far, it is not Camilla the boozy who’s the fact of the Monarchy, it’s Harry and Meghan.
If he hadn’t thrown Harry and Meghan under the bus and left them with no British home.Harry , gentleman that he is would have come and helped his father. But Charles has been less than a gentleman shall we say and taken Williams advice on Handling Harry . So I now have no sympathy for the predicament that the Royals find themselves in. Had he invited Harry for Christmas this could have been resolved. No statesmanship here.
TURP is pretty standard procedure, but recovery varies. My FIL was back home from surgery in two days, and recovering in a week but then had to go back in to the hospital for a few days because some blip in health prompted his doctors to want to run some tests. He was 89 at the time though, and stabilized in a few days and came back to continue recovery. He was fine and functioning well after a month.
All of which is to say, each person varies in recovery, and the first few days are unfun with a catheter etc, so I’m sure the mood is subdued around the royal patient. But Chas seems healthy and will no doubt be running around proving his vitality in no time. Camilla probably wants him to stay down a bit longer lol…
The problem facing them is, of course, who is going to notice? Or care? Therein lies the danger. I’d be working my arse off if I were William, just to keep in with the British public. Releasing and re-releasing stories about Kate’s care will only hold back the lack of interest for so long.
My dad was facing possible prostate surgery last fall due to similar reasons as King Charles. His urologist then recommended he not undergo the surgery and so we were able to have a normal holiday season (we were looking at a possible surgery date in November). I’m not sure where my dad is at in his prostate journey but I believe he will need the surgery eventually and he was looking at a month of recovery time. It is a routine procedure but it does require several weeks of recovery time.
What is his job title again?
My father had this treatment at 74 and was back at work as soon the anesthesia was fading, like seriously a couple of hours after the operations he started sending working emails . he got a new knee at 78 and was back at work (from bed) the next day and in the office withing 3 weeks. It all depends on the person
Well, here’s sending HM all best wishes for a speedy recovery.
The man really is a workaholic and, remember, in addition to the monarch’s duties is still running the former Prince’s Trust and Prince’s Foundation – W having opted out of involvement with either.
Get well soon Charles.
LOL at “workaholic.” He couldn’t handle an ordinary person’s 40-hour workweek, let alone the workweek of a workaholic. Because most of us not only have work responsibilities, but family and personal responsibilities. No one is running errands for us, or ironing our clothes, or polishing our shoes, or balancing our accounts, or putting our toothpaste on our toothbrushes.
He has no real power. He’s the head grifter in a family of grifters.
It’s pretty easy to show up at work appointments when the roads are cleared for you, and you’re not driving anyway. Charles lost his temper over a malfunctioning pen — imagine him enduring the stresses of a real job.
I do appreciate what you’re saying, QuiteContrary, but he works harder than the rest of them put together.
Thanks for the reminder re the pen, started my day off with a big smile.