King Charles III Enters Hospital for Scheduled Prostate Treatment

Britain's King Charles III waits on the church steps after attending the Royal Family
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Oliver JJ Lane

King Charles was admitted to hospital for treatment for an enlarged prostate on Friday, and is expected to remain there some days while he recovers.

Buckingham Palace announced the King was due to undergo a “corrective procedure” for a benign enlarged prostate last week. He arrived at the London Clinic, a historic private hospital, on Friday morning with the Queen, Camilla.

Update — King Charles “doing well” says Queen

Queen Camilla was seen leaving the private London hospital where the King is receiving treatment on Friday and in response to a question from a member of the press, said: “He’s doing well, thank you”.

A spokesman for the palace said, per The Telegraph: “The King was this morning admitted to a London hospital for scheduled treatment. His Majesty would like to thank all those who have sent their good wishes over the past week and is delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness.”

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It is reported by state broadcaster the BBC that the King is understood to have visited the Princess of Wales, his daughter-in-law and future Queen, who has been at the hospital since undergoing surgery there last week before his own treatment.

It is not known how long the King will remain in hospital, but the UK’s nationalised health service says a non-cancerous enlarged prostate is common in older men and is “not usually a serious threat to health”. Announcing the forthcoming procedure last week, Buckingham Palace said: “In common with thousands of men each year, The King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate”.

It has been the practice for a long time for the Palace to not comment on health matters pertaining to Royalty, and the King announcing he was to attend hospital for a procedure the same day it was revealed the Princess of Wales, Kate, had been admitted to hospital for apparently serious abdominal surgery has been seen as a serious shift towards a more open position. In the case of the King’s case, it has been widely interpreted in UK media that the decision was made to raise awareness of the condition and encourage more men to seek treatment.

While the King may be out of hospital in days and returned to duties in weeks, it is thought Princess Kate, who was admitted to hospital last week, has undergone serious surgery. She is expected to be recovering in hospital for weeks and will continue to convalesce at home for months after that, not returning to Royal duties until after Easter. A Royal source cited by Reuters last week after the surgery said the Princess was “doing well”, however.

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