NEED TO KNOW
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King Charles is to give a personal message about his cancer on Friday, Dec. 12
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The message, filmed at Clarence House in London a couple of weeks ago, will go out as part of the Stand Up To Cancer charity telethon in the U.K.
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Charles, 77, hopes it will help more people come forward for screening ensuring early detection of cancer
King Charles is to give a personal televised message about his cancer, during a broadcast in the U.K. on Friday, Dec. 12
The King, 77, has recorded a video message at his London home, Clarence House, about his cancer journey, Buckingham Palace confirmed to PEOPLE.
The short film is part of a special Stand Up To Cancer evening to raise awareness and funds for tackling cancer, which is run by Channel 4 television in association with Cancer Research UK.
Charles — who announced in Feb. 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer — is expected to talk about the importance of screening and checks that would enable more people to detect the disease at an early stage.
He will also will reflect on his own recovery journey, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
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King Charles at an advent service at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 10, 2025
The king is understood to undergo regular treatment for his unnamed cancer and has been open about his situation, partly in order to normalize the conversation and encourage people to get tested. He has made seeing fellow patients and survivors and key researchers and doctors part of his public work.
His return to duties following his initial treatment in 2024 also saw him and wife Queen Camilla visit a major cancer hospital in London.
In May 2025, after his brief visit to Canada, palace aides gave an insight into how, like millions of others, Charles was living with the disease. “The thing you learn about this illness is that you just manage it, and that’s what he does,” one said.
“Medical science has made incredible advances, and I genuinely see no difference in him,” the aide added at the time. “As long as you just do what the doctors say, just live your life as normal as possible. That’s exactly what he is doing.”
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King Charles visits a cancer patient during a visit to a hospital in Birmingham, U.K. on Sept. 3, 2025
All his aides have confirmed is that it was not prostate cancer. His cancer was discovered after undergoing a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate in January 2024, and Buckingham Palace revealed that the King had cancer on Feb. 5.
Since spring 2024, Charles has periodically given updates in conversations with other cancer patients and sufferers.
He has also spoken about the difficulty of coping with the side effects of the ongoing treatment, and in May 2025, he was hospitalized briefly due to a negative reaction.
The King’s daughter-in-law Kate Middleton was also diagnosed with cancer early in 2024, following a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. Her diagnosis was announced in March 2024.
In January 2025, after saying in Sept. 2024 that she had completed chemotherapy, Princess Kate said she was in remission.
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King Charles at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 10, 2025
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Last December, aides let it be known that Charles’ condition was being “managed” as his treatment continued.
“His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year,” one was quoted saying on Dec. 20, 2024.
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