King Charles and Queen Camilla Make First Appearance of the Year as His Cancer Treatment Continues

Mar. 15, 2025

A little rain couldn’t keepKing CharlesandQueen Camillaaway from Sunday church at Sandringham, their first appearance of the year as hiscancer treatmentcontinues.

On Jan. 5, the King, 76, and Queen, 77, braved the rain to attend a Divine Service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham estate, and seemed to be in sunny spirits despite the downpour. The King was seen greeting Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, who preached the sermon at church that day, while the Queen carried a clear umbrella. She may have picked up the fashion hack from the lateQueen Elizabeth, who memorably said, “I need to be seento be believed.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s trip to church on the Sandringham estate was their first joint outing of the new year as the King’s cancer treatment continues. Shortly before Christmas, palace sources said that the sovereign’s treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer wouldextend into 2025, “moving in a positive direction” as a “managed condition.”

“His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year,” palace sources said on Dec. 20.

Plans are underway for trips around the U.K. and abroad penciled into his schedule for the coming year, similar to the end of last year.

2024 was a year unlike any other for the royal family, as King Charles andKate Middletonwere both diagnosed with cancer and began treatment. The sovereign was first hospitalized for a procedure to treat anenlarged prostatelast January, during which “a separate issue of concern” was identified and later diagnosed as cancer. A spokesmanclarifiedhe does not have prostate cancer, and his treatment began on Feb. 5.

King Charles leaves church at Sandringham on Jan. 5, 2025.Paul Marriott/PA Images via Getty

Paul Marriott/PA Images via Getty

The King postponed public-facing engagements (while continuing to work behind the scenes) for three months after on doctors' advice, andresumed forward-facing dutiesin late April with an emotional visit to a cancer hospital in London with Queen Camilla.

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for church at St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham on Jan. 5, 2025.King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive for a Sunday church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive for a Sunday church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

It was significant to see the royal family out in full force on Christmas morning for the classic walk to and from church at St. Mary Magdalene at the end of a yearPrince Williampreviously described as “brutal” from “a personal family point of view” in light of his wife and father’s cancer diagnoses. (Princess Kate shared in March 2024 that she wasundergoing treatment for cancer, and said in September that shecompleted chemotherapy.)

King Charles also shifted tradition on Christmas Day in a meaningful way and filmed his annual Christmas Broadcast in aformer hospital chapelinstead of a royal residence. PEOPLE learned that the speech recorded at Fitzrovia Chapel, the former chapel of Middlesex Hospital in London, would reflect on national, international and personal challenges and how they can be surmounted through mutual community support, and the King delivered exactly that message on the holiday. His remarks also took a personal turn as he paid tribute to the medial professionals who were there for him and his daughter-in-law, Princess Kate.

Kate Middleton, Queen Camilla, Prince William, King Charles and more royals walk to church at St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham on Dec. 24, 2024.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

In his remarks, the monarch praised the “selfless” healthcare workers who supported him and the princess “through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness,” and thanked the public for their continued well-wishes.

“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” King Charles said in part. “I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”

The Princess of Wales, 42, also touched on the boost in morale that public support provided during the difficult year during the walkabout at Sandringham on Christmas Day.

Kate Middleton at Sandringham on Dec. 25, 2024.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

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“The amount of people who have written this year is extraordinary, and I think cancer just really does resonate with so many families. People like you are doing all the hard work out there, and I’m hugely grateful,” Princess Kate told a woman who had worked with Macmillan Cancer Support, a U.K. charity that King Charles has long backed as patron.

source: people.com