King Charles' Travel Plans Suggest Camilla May Be More Worried About Him Than We Thought
King Charles III shut down rumors about his health in April when he announced that he was ready to return to public royal duties, and his return to work is now fully under way amidst his cancer recovery. Yet, it seems that Queen Camilla may not be as enthusiastic about his full-speed ahead approach as he is. Rumor has it that she is worried about her husband's health, and his upcoming trip is making matters worse.
Charles took a much-needed break from the public eye after announcing his cancer diagnosis in February of 2024. Recently, though, the king has been ready to get back into the swing of things, despite still being in treatment for his illness. From the sound of it, the 75-year-old royal's recovery is going in the right direction, as his progress has inspired confidence in his doctors, and it seems that Charles was thrilled to take this as a green light to get back out in the world. A source told People, "One thing that has been wholly undiminished is his appetite for work." After dipping his toes back into public engagements, Charles is now planning a June trip to France. Alongside Queen Camilla and William, Prince of Wales, King Charles will head out of the country to honor the lives lost on D-Day on its 80th anniversary. While he may be eager to keep going, a friend of Queen Camilla told The Daily Beast that she "has been trying to encourage him to slow down."
Charles' jam-packed, jet-setting schedule reportedly has Camilla concerned
While the planned trip to France may be King Charles' first time out of the country since his diagnosis, he already has future trips lined up. He's planning to travel for work to both Australia and Samoa. One source close to the royal family told The Daily Beast, "Of course he should slow down, but as anyone who knows him will tell you, he is not going to." They went on to say that, "It's a worry for everyone, because he has made no secret of the fact that he still has cancer and is still getting treated for it, but I think he wants to raise awareness of the reality that cancer is something that a lot of people live with and make the best of."
That's certainly a noble cause, but it doesn't change the fact that he could be taking on an overly busy schedule. Trips for work engagements can be tiring and grueling enough on their own, but a flight from the U.K. to Australia takes nearly 24 hours on top of that. Queen Camilla's friend explained, "Of course, he wants to keep cracking on, but she is afraid that doing too much could set him back," adding, "I do wonder if Camilla will support him going to Australia. She is not the type to put her foot down, but she might say, 'Come on now, darling, is this really sensible?'"
The queen's joke about her husband's behavior offers insight
The palace has, unsurprisingly, not made any public comments regarding Queen Camilla's rumored mounting concern for her husband. Yet, according to the Daily Mail, the queen has been including notes in King Charles' briefings that gently urge him to slow down and avoid biting off more than he can chew. She has apparently jotted down messages like "prudens qui patiens," which means "the prudent man is patient" in Latin, as well as "softly, softly catches the monkey." While the medical professionals who are treating Charles do think that his prognosis is improving, they reportedly still aren't fully onboard with how aggressively he's packed his schedule.
Beyond Charles' trips, he has also been quite busy on his home turf since announcing he'd be back to work publicly. He's hosting large parties, scheduling important meetings, and attending events like the Chelsea Flower Show and Trooping the Colour. On May 16, Camilla headed to Lamb House in Rye for a party. Royal expert Roya Nikkhah posted some photos of the event to X, formerly known as Twitter, and said that Queen Camilla told fellow guests that King Charles is "getting better," but notably added, "well, he would if he behaved himself." While the queen was clearly making a joke, it also implies that there may, in fact, be a difference between how Charles thinks he should proceed and what Camilla would prefer. From the sound of it, though, the king has no intention of taking it easy.