King Charles thanks public for support after cancer diagnosis

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - King Charles III expressed his "heartfelt thanks" Saturday to the public for their support and good wishes in his first message after being diagnosed with cancer.

"I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days," Charles said in his message from Sandringham in Norfolk.

"As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement," King Charles said in the statement.

"It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support cancer patients and their families across the UK and wider world," he added.

Buckingham Palace said Jan. 17 that Charles would receive a "corrective procedure" at a hospital for an enlarged prostate.

The palace later issued another statement, that said he had been admitted to the hospital for a scheduled prostate treatment.

Following a three-night stay at the London Clinic, Charles left the hospital. But Buckingham Palace announced Monday that Charles has been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and has begun treatment.

Charles ascended to the throne following the death of his long-serving mother, Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022.

In May 2023, in the first coronation service in nearly 70 years, he was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.