King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend an Easter service at the chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday, Buckingham Palace officials said.
The appearance will be the first major event for Charles, 75, since he was diagnosed with cancer in February. Officials said Tuesday Charles and Camilla will be accompanied by other members of the royal family at the Easter Sunday service at St. George’s Chapel.
The King is undergoing regular treatments and has suspended almost all his public engagements since his cancer diagnosis. Officials didn’t disclose what form of cancer Charles has but said it’s not related to his recent treatment for a benign prostate condition.
Officials have said the monarch is continuing with state business, including his regular weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and won’t be handing over his constitutional role as head of state.
It is not immediately known which other members of the royal family will attend Sunday’s service, but Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, who announced last week that she is also undergoing cancer treatment, are not expected to attend.
Initially, when Kensington Palace announced that Catherine had undergone abdominal surgery, the palace had said she was unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.
Dual cancer diagnoses
Questions have swirled about Catherine’s health since Jan. 17, when Kensington Palace announced her planned abdominal surgery. At that point, she hadn’t been seen publicly since Christmas Day. The initial statement offered no other details, other than clarifying that her condition wasn’t cancerous.
But last Friday, in a video message, Catherine revealed that further tests after her surgery showed that “cancer had been present.” At the advice of her medical team, she said she has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
“This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said, referring to her husband, Prince William, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.”
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announced she is receiving treatment for cancer, in a video released Friday following a prolonged absence from the public eye.
