King Charles is marking a year since his Coronation (Image: Getty)
No one in history waited longer to ascend the throne than King Charles, and it can’t have been easy to follow someone who was so loved and respected across the globe.
And then just as he was finding his feet and showcasing his priorities as King, Charles was given the news no one ever wants to hear: you have cancer.
His shock diagnosis at the start of the year attempted to derail his reign and the causes he had sought to champion: the environment, food wastage and the importance of communities.
But the hardworking royal, known for his workaholic nature and love of meeting the public, has been determined to get back to business and fight what he once called this “beastly disease”.
This has become every more important to him following his beloved daughter in law’s diagnosis shortly after his own.
Read more: Zara Tindall wraps her arms around Charles as pair share heartwarming embrace
Now, Charles has pivoted to raising awareness of cancer and showing his support to fellow sufferers.
On Tuesday, the King marked his return to public-facing duties by visiting a cancer hospital, where he repeatedly stated the importance of early detection. He sat down with patients and listened to their own experiences of cancer, in a poignant show of support for the Princess of Wales.
Charles chose to mark his first engagement since his own diagnosis in this way to show the nation that he is determined to ‘do his bit’ and spread awareness of the disease.
For decades, the King has taken a specific interest in the treatment of cancer and he now intends to bring his campaigning zeal to highlight the battle to find a cure.
His brave decision to make his diagnosis public has already had a phenomenal effect.
Searches for NHS advice on the disease increased by 51 percent in the 24 hours following the cancer announcement in February, while Macmillan also saw a 42 percent jump in hits to its website.
King Charles spoke with cancer patients during a hospital visit last week (Image: Getty)
The charity has also had a 75 percent increase in volunteer applications to the charity compared with the same period in 2023.
Veteran royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the so-called King Charles effect shows the soft power a monarch can have.
“He has clearly chosen to raise awareness of health issues,” he said. “We saw that with his prostate condition and also with cancer. This is an excellent example of how the monarchy can use its unique profile for charitable purposes.”
The King is expected to undertake more engagements this year to show his support for cancer sufferers and continue to spotlight the disease.
But the other issues that have dominated Charles’s reign will continue to feature prominently in his upcoming visits and speeches that he gives.
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His Coronation highlighted two emerging priorities for the King, as he sought to use the occasion of his crowning to focus on volunteering and food poverty by launching the Big Help Out and Coronation Food Project.
The first urged Britons to volunteer and back communities, while the second looked at tackling food waste and insecurity.
His determination to continue these causes has become ever apparent in the months that followed.
On his 75th birthday in November, Charles marked the occasion by expanding the Coronation Food Project. Instead of toasting the milestone at home, the King and Queen headed to a food distribution hub in Oxfordshire to kick-start the initiative – which aims to support charities feeding the nation with unwanted food.
He also wrote a piece for The Big Issue about the project, where he shared his concern about “cost of living pressures” existing at a time when tonnes of food is being wasted. The King wrote of his desire to create a “lasting legacy to help others” – a strong indication that the monarch is resolute on making food waste a major tenant of his reign.
His determination to bridge the gap between food waste and food need across the UK marks a continuation of his earlier royal initiatives, donating fridges and freezers to charities and helping educate young people about food supply and production.
Charles is also keen to encourage people to help others during their time of need.
Just three days after he was discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate in January, the King issued a statement urging the public to lend a hand during his second Big Help Out this summer.
He urged Britons to volunteer and build “kinder, closer communities” in a further indication of his priorities as King.
A third, more predictable, priority for the King is the environment.
As Prince of Wales, Charles quickly became one of the leading voices of his generation on climate change and environmental issues. He has been at the forefront of the topic for decades, and it is clear that the environment remains his overriding concern.
Whilst maintaining a respectable boundary now he is monarch, Charles continues to speak out on climate change.
In December he travelled to Dubai to speak at COP28 where he warned that the world was “dreadfully far off track” in delivering a sustainable future for the climate.
He is also making subtle efforts to highlight sustainability. During last year’s Christmas message the tree he stood in front of was adorned with sustainable decorations such as dried oranges and pine cones, and the tree was replanted at the end of the festivities.
But despite preserving his interest in the environment, he has avoided overstepping the mark into political matters – something he was often accused of when heir.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: “He is a humanitarian monarch, and has struck the right balance giving his constitutional role priority as he must, but making it obvious in areas such as the environment, what he thinks.”
As we mark a year since the King’s spectacular Coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6, it is clear that Charles’s priorities and aims for his reign have shifted since his cancer diagnosis.
But that won’t slow him down, if anything the indiscriminate disease has fuelled his focus and renewed his determination to use his position for good.
One priority that has perhaps become more pressing is mending his relationship with his youngest son and his family, who emigrated to the US four years ago.
While he has continued a dignified silence in the face of growing provocation from the Sussex camp, it appears that a recent royal reunion sparked a “cause for optimism”.
Prince Harry rushed to the UK hours after the King’s cancer diagnosis was made public, and the pair met for a brief chat at Clarence House.
The pair are expected to meet again next week when the Duke returns to London for an Invictus Games event.
While the King is keen for the environment, volunteering and food waste to be his legacy, he will also be hoping that the ongoing royal feud does not overshadow his reign.
