Queen Camilla says keeping King Charles' cancer diagnosis private was difficult

Britain's Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about how hard it was to keep her husband King Charles' cancer diagnosis initially private.

Buckingham Palace revealed in February 2024 that the British monarch was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. He is still receiving treatment but said last December than an early diagnosis and effective intervention meant this could be scaled back.

A week before the palace made the announcement, Camilla visited a Maggie's cancer support centre at a London hospital and in a video released on behalf of the charity on Wednesday, she said it had been hard not to talk about her husband's own illness.

"I remember coming to see a Maggie's just after the king being diagnosed. Nobody could say anything at the time, that was quite difficult," Camilla told Laura Lee, the chief executive of Maggie's of which the queen is president.

"I almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn't the time to say, (I) looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations, and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were.

"I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn't."

In the film, produced to mark Maggie's 30th anniversary, Camilla spoke of looking after her "poor husband" and how he was determined to keep working.

"Look at my husband, nothing stopped him," she said. "He just said, this is my way I'm going to cope with it."

Maggie's has said that the revelation that Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, had undergone treatment for cancer and their willingness to speak publicly about coping with the illness had had a huge positive impact on fellow sufferers.

"The king's openness about his diagnosis has undoubtedly helped others to be more open themselves and to now hear the Queen's completely understandable and natural response as a wife, shines a light on why it is so important that family and friends also get the support they need," Lee said.

-Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Paul Sandle/Reuters