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King Charles is giving a rare update on his health.
The monarch, 76 — who revealed his cancer diagnosis in February 2024 — revealed what “helps” amid his ongoing treatments while talking to Stamford Collis at The Education and Skills Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
Collis, 22, is a college student at Exeter University who is also undergoing cancer treatments.
“He was asking me about the treatment I have starting in June and spoke to me about food and diet. He also asked me if I had undergone radiation treatment, which I had earlier this year,” the student revealed after he met King Charles, per The Telegraph.
The royal was heard stating, “It’s sometimes about the diet and what you eat. It can help.”
King Charles is no stranger to healthy eating. Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles, who is a food writer, revealed in September that the royal couple eats “simple, healthy and resolutely seasonal food.”
“Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III” was released in October. In an interview with The Daily Mail at the time, Parker-Bowles, 50, shared that the King’s pantry is filled with “seasonal bounty of the royal estates,” such as “game, beef and lamb” and “peas, strawberries, raspberries and chard.”
“There is no waste at [King Charles’] table,” he explained.
In December, Palace sources confirmed to The Post that the monarch’s “treatment has been moving in a positive direction, and as a managed condition the treatment cycle, will continue into next year.”
Dame Laura Lee, the chief executive of the cancer support charity Maggie’s, has also previously spoken out about Charles’ condition.
“It’s very common for treatment to be ongoing for very long periods of time, as is the treatment that the Princess of Wales went through, which is an intense period of treatment over a year, and then it comes to a point where it’s on an end, and she’s on that recovery from some of the impacts of her treatment,” she said, via Sky News.
“So we’ve got immunotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy. There are all sorts of different treatment modalities. And so it’s not surprising at all,” Lee added.
The King was originally hospitalized for a planned operation to treat an enlarged prostate in January 2024 when the undisclosed cancer was discovered. In Feb., the palace announced that he had started treatment.
At the time, Charles canceled all of his in-person engagements and only returned to his more public royal duties in April of that year.
That month, he shared a personal message thanking “all those who support cancer patients and their loved ones” on the royal family’s website.
King Charles admitted that being “among” the “statistics” of those diagnosed with cancer has “reinforced” his view that “the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion.”
“My wife and I are delighted to host you here this evening to celebrate and above all thank those who so selflessly give care, comfort and reassurance to the 390,000 people who, sadly, receive a new cancer diagnosis across the UK each year,” the king’s statement began in part. “Each diagnosis, each new case, will be a daunting and at times frightening experience for those individuals and their loved ones.”
He added, “As one among those statistics myself, I can vouch for the fact that it can also be an experience that brings into sharp focus the very best of humanity.”
Charles’ daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, revealed her own cancer diagnosis in March 2024. Six months later, Princess Kate, 42, announced she had finished her chemotherapy treatment.
“I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” she said in a statement on X at the time.
“Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”
The Princess of Wales, who shares three children — Prince George, 11, Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — with Prince William, added she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months” when she could.
Kate also thanked those who supported her during the difficult time.
“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,” she expressed.
“The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything.”
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