King Charles III appeared ’emotional’ during his first major appearance following his cancer diagnosis last year
King Charles III couldn’t help but get emotional in his first major appearance following his cancer diagnosis.
Buckingham Palace announced the unfortunate news in February last year, after which Charles briefly stepped away from royal duties for the sake of his treatment. His first major appearance since then was at last year’s Trooping the Colour — the ceremony for the official birthday of the monarch.
Now, a lip reader has revealed what a “tearful” and “emotional” Charles was saying to his wife, Queen Camilla, during the carriage ride.
In the Channel 5 documentary Lip-Reading The Royals: The Secret Conversations, airing Saturday, July 19, expert Nicola Hickling analysed a private carriage exchange between the King and Queen.
After reviewing footage from the June 2024 event, Hickling concluded that Charles appeared visibly moved during the ride.
“Here Queen Camilla senses Charles’ emotional state and she says: ‘Are you absolutely certain?'” Hickling shared in the documentary via Mirror.
“Charles responds, he makes a subtle hand gesture which appears to reinforce his own determination as he replies, he says: ‘I’ll get through today, it makes me feel emotional and I don’t know why.’”
The King then appeared to wipe away a tear, she noted.
“At this point he uses his hand to wipe away perhaps a tear from his eye. I can see on closer inspection that his eyes are quite red and he does look quite tearful,” Hickling added.
Charles, 76, is still undergoing cancer treatment. However, he appeared to be in much higher spirits during this year’s Trooping the Colour, as did his daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, who announced her own cancer remission in January 2025.
