King Charles held his first in-person audience with Rishi Sunak since his cancer diagnosis

6 months ago 26

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King Charles was in Sandringham over the weekend, where he stepped out for church on Sunday. He came back to London on Monday or Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he did his first in-person “audience” with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak since he was diagnosed with cancer. It felt like Charles was avoiding most in-person meetings, but the “weekly audience” couldn’t be done via Zoom, so here we are. In Charles’s case, the prime minister meetings seem to be more like “once a fortnight” or “once a month.” My guess is that Sunak also agreed ahead of time to the videographer and photographers recording the first few minutes of the meeting too. They met at Buckingham Palace.

Britain’s King Charles said during a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday he had been reduced to tears by messages of good will following his cancer diagnosis. The palace announced earlier this month that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with a form of cancer, less than 18 months into his reign.

“I’ve had so many wonderful messages and cards … it’s reduced me to tears most of the time,” Charles said during his weekly audience with Sunak.

“Everyone is behind you,” Sunak responded.

The monarch holds weekly audiences alone with the prime minister, although occasionally cameras have been allowed to capture the start of the meetings. Wednesday’s meeting is the first formal in-person audience Charles has held with Sunak since it was revealed that he was suffering from an unspecified form of cancer. Buckingham Palace has said the king will continue to carry out state business and his official paperwork while he undergoes cancer treatment.

Sunak began the exchange by telling Charles it was wonderful to see him looking so well.

“Well it’s all done by mirrors,” Charles joked.

[From Reuters]

This actually made me a little bit sad. I know Charles is a terrible father and he destroyed his first marriage and all of that, but still… he’s really feeling his mortality these days and I think his cancer treatments have knocked him on his ass. I feel sorry for him.

Now, I do want to talk about the timing of this – Charles ensures that he’s seen doing state business and meeting with Sunak just a day after his heir dove headfirst into an international political situation? In recent days, there has been a lot of commentary about how Charles’s reign will be short and “this is how King William will rule” and… yeah, I think Charles wanted to remind everyone that he’s still here.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

King Charles III with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace, London, for their first in-person audience since the King’s diagnosis with cancer Featuring: Rishi Sunak, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Feb 2024 Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**