King Charles was admitted to hospital and has been forced to cancel engagements as he continues to battle cancer.
According to Buckingham Palace, the 76-year-old monarch was hospitalized for a short time before returning to Clarence House, where he's reportedly back at his desk working on state papers and making calls from his study, per BBC News.
Although the King had planned to visit Birmingham for a full day of public engagements on Friday, the tour was postponed following medical advice. The visit was set to include four events.
The palace didn’t reveal specific details about the side effects, but emphasized that the hospital trip was precautionary.
A source close to the Palace reassured the public, calling the situation a “most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction.”
In keeping with that tone of reassurance, the King opted for a private car to the London Clinic in central London - no flashing lights, no ambulance - highlighting just how low-key the situation was.
“It was wiser to postpone Friday’s visit,” said the Palace, emphasizing transparency with a late-night announcement rather than triggering speculation with a last-minute cancellation.
The King’s office confirmed he was also unable to attend meetings with three ambassadors scheduled for Thursday.
Still, it was the cancelled Birmingham trip that left him most frustrated.
“Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion,” the Palace stated.
“He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible.”
Queen Camilla did not accompany Charles to the hospital. Instead, she appeared at a reception in Wembley, North London, continuing her own royal duties while the King recovered.
Following the update from Buckingham Palace, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he “wishes His Majesty the King all the very best.”
Despite the health scare, the Palace is clearly leaning into optimism. The overall messaging is that this was a momentary pause, not a cause for panic.
While Charles has appeared tireless in recent months, royal biographer Robert Hardman noted this moment served as a subtle reality check.
“This is a sort of reminder that this is a head of state who is undergoing treatment for cancer,” Hardman said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “You think, here’s the King doing what he likes doing, which is being out and about.”
The King’s recent schedule has been packed. He visited Northern Ireland, attended the Commonwealth Day service (which he missed last year post-diagnosis), and even launched a personal playlist of favorite tunes.
And it doesn’t stop there. Charles has remained active on the global diplomacy front - welcoming Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, showing support for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky after a tense meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump, and even inviting Trump for a second state visit to the UK.
Meanwhile, the Palace clarified that the recently postponed visit to the Vatican had nothing to do with the King’s health - it was actually due to concerns over Pope Francis’s well-being.
The rest of the Italy trip, set for April, is expected to go ahead with minor adjustments.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the King is expected to be “back to normal in terms of his diary” as early as next week.