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The year 2024 proved challenging for the Royal Family after both King Charles and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with different forms of cancer. Both took time off their royal duties to focus on treatment. But while the Princess of Wales has since made progress and returned to her royal engagements after her cancer’s remission, the King is still undergoing treatment even though he has made his return to the public eye.
According to the royal calendar, King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to visit Italy and the Holy See in early April. Given that the king is still battling cancer, sources suggest that he has been forced to make “careful” adjustments to his plans. Notably, the royal visit has been strategically timed to coincide with the Catholic Church’s Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee Year celebrations.
After Buckingham Palace confirmed the royal trip, Grant Harrold, the King’s former royal butler, commended His Majesty’s thoughtful approach to managing his engagements, especially considering his age and health.
“As I’m sure you can appreciate it’s common sense that while he’s there, they think, let’s just do the two at the same time,” Harrold recently told GB News while commenting on the timing of the monarch’s visit.
The move allegedly shows King Charles’ conscious effort to balance fulfilling his duties while limiting his travels and receiving treatment. Harrold added, “Obviously he’s a little bit older. I mean when his mother became Queen and she was undertaking state visits, obviously she was a lot younger… I just think they’re probably just planning it carefully and trying to make the most of his time while he’s overseas.”
The upcoming trip will mark Charles’ ninth official state visit since becoming King, and Harrold stressed that meticulous planning is more important than ever. “I think because of obviously his age and his recent health and everything, they’ve probably just kind of been sensible about how they plan these kind of things,” he reiterated.
While details of the visit are still being finalized, Harrold explained that state visits usually last anywhere from a few days to about a week, with health being a key consideration. “So it’s not normally he can guarantee he’s not there for 24 hours normally, uh, health-wise, as far as I’m aware, he’s doing really well,” Harrold said.
The royal couple’s Italian visit will include engagements in Rome and Ravenna, with the highlight being a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Before they depart, the King and Queen hosted an elegant black-tie dinner at Highgrove, featuring Italy’s culinary heritage, on Friday, Feb. 7.
The monarch recently had a demanding nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa. He completed 36 engagements during this period, showing just how capable he is of carrying out royal duties despite his ongoing battle with cancer. It can be noted that it also did not take long for him to return to the spotlight after his condition was made public. He was diagnosed in February 2024 but resumed his royal duties two months later.