Keep Calm And Carry On? Health Fears Could Reshape The King's Role

Last Monday, King Charles emerged from a private clinic alongside Queen Camilla to wave to a small crowd. The message that Buckingham Palace wished to convey was obvious: the monarch is strong and will carry out his duties despite the health setback.

- Rajeev Syal

Hours earlier, his daughter-in-law Catherine, the Princess of Wales, left the same hospital after planned abdominal surgery.

For several days, the global media speculation over their health - and that of the monarchy as a whole - died down. But this Monday's surprise announcement that Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer inevitably provoked another frenzy - and will once again raise questions about whether it is fair to expect a man in his mid-70s to fulfil a rota of public duties.

He started his new job a decade after most men retire. For many, it will seem as if fate has placed another challenge before a reign that has been so long in the waiting.

Seventy-two years ago, when his grandfather died and his mother became queen, Charles became heir apparent at the age of three. He held that title for 70 years longer than anyone else.