King Charles taking 'two doctors' and 'blood supply' on upcoming royal tour amid cancer battle
King Charles is said to be taking two doctors and a supply of his own blood when he embarks on his upcoming tour of Australia and Samoa, with his wife, Queen Camilla, by his side. The 77-year-old monarch, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer at the start of this year, is said to have a team of medics on standby at all times, day or night, during the tour, which will take place from October 18 to 26.
Although the King will have a number of medical professionals on hand to ‘monitor him closely’ during the trip, it is thought that the head of the Royal Household, Michael Dixon will not be travelling with them. The Monarch is said to be pausing his ongoing chemotherapy treatment until he returns to the UK. According to The Times, the medical steps put in place for King Charles’ trip overseas are “the same as arrangements put in place for the late Queen”, who passed away in September 2022, aged 96.
This includes travelling with a supply of the Monarch’s blood, in case a transfusion was ever needed during a trip abroad.
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Whilst the King and Queen are in Australia, they will attend several public engagements, however, there are said to be no evening events and there will be a full day of rest scheduled in.
The only exception to the lack of evening events will be when they arrive in Samoa in the evening, where they will attend a state dinner.
Charles had plans to visit New Zealand, but this part of the tour was dropped due to his ongoing health issues.
Ever the gentleman, the King apologised profusely to the New Zealand female rugby squad at a reception in Buckingham Palace in September. He told them: “I’m extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October – it’s on doctors’ orders.
“But I hope there will be another excuse (to come) before too long. In the meantime, give my love to New Zealand.”
Whilst King Charles’ cancer battle is ongoing, his daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, recently gave an update on her own cancer experience in September, as she revealed that her preventative chemotherapy had now ended and that she is focusing on staying ‘cancer-free’.
The world was left stunned earlier this year when the King announced he had cancer in February, closely followed by his daughter-in-law Princess Kate in March.
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