How is King Charles? If an official answer to this question does not appear to be forthcoming, rumors are multiplying about the conditions of the sovereign, who in February was diagnosed with cancer for which he is undergoing treatment. The last one rumor which agitates British high society, relaunched in the last few hours by Daily Beast, is that the king is “much worse than his collaborators admit”. In recent weeks, the British newspaper writes, the monarch’s friends have been responding to questions on the subject with a gloomy look, declaring half-heartedly that things “are not going well”. At Buckingham Palace, however, the line of communication adopted since the beginning of the affair is maintained: no comment. On the other hand, royal circles never even said exactly what type of cancer the sovereign was diagnosed with: they limited themselves to specifying that it did not concern the prostate. All we know is that Carlo regularly travels to London to undergo radiotherapy.
The document
Yet another not exactly reassuring voice filters out from the Palace: several sources have revealed to the Daily Beast that plans for the sovereign’s funeral are currently “being updated”. His entourage he is in fact busy these days in finalizing the details for the next funeral of a member of the royal family, distilling the lessons learned from those of Queen Elizabeth: what went well, what could have been handled better. The document on King Charles’ funeral – which is obviously hoped to be as far away as possible – is called “Operation Menai Bridge” and would already consist of 700 pages of painstaking indications on the ceremonial. The government department responsible for state funerals is the Cabinet Office, but it has refused to confirm or deny the most pessimistic rumors in circulation.
Does everything fall apart or business as usual?
A longtime friend of the ruler told the Daily Beast that «naturally [Carlo] he is determined to beat cancer and they are doing everything they can to cure him. Everyone remains optimistic, but he is really very ill. More than they let on.” Another source, a former member of the royal staff who maintains active links with colleagues in service, instead toned down the alarmism: «The plans [per il funerale] they have been dusted off and are being actively kept up to date. It’s nothing more than you’d expect given that the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But their circulation has certainly focused attention.” As another source, who knows a senior official involved in planning the royal funeral, specified: “It’s not an emotional matter, it’s a job, taken very seriously, and understandably no one intends to be caught unprepared.”
The sovereign’s agenda
Indeed, experts recall how every royal must prepare for the eventuality: «William and Harry were only teenagers when they were asked to organize their funerals». Indirect denials or confirmations about King Charles’ health will come from the next official events in which he is expected to participate. Starting with his official birthday parade, known as Trooping the Color, on June 15th. Many say he will also attend the Royal Ascot horse racing festival in the same month. Furthermore, the state visit to Australia, followed by a trip to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, scheduled for mid-October, has not yet been canceled for the time being. Indeed, preparations for the trip would continue according to plan.
