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LONDON – The operation has begun “Menai Bridge”. The name, which refers to a bridge connecting the Isle of Anglesey to Wales, is the code name for the funeral preparations for King Charles III, who was Prince of Wales for most of his life.
It is completely normal for Buckingham Palace to organize the King’s funeral ceremony well in advance and down to the smallest detail: the document of hundreds of pages was created in September 2022, immediately after Elizabeth II’s funeral. Operation “London Bridge”, the code name for the Queen’s funeral, was ready to begin decades before her disappearance.
King Charles III, the eternal prince always one step behind Elizabeth II
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The fact that the Menai Bridge operation is being upgraded is therefore normal practice. However, given that the King is suffering from cancer, the news has triggered rumours, indiscretions, alleged revelations and banal gossip.
When Buckingham Palace announced the cancer diagnosis last February, he made it clear that there would not be regular updates on the King’s state of health. There remained absolute confidentiality as to what type of cancer it is and at what stage and what type of care Charles III is receiving. It seems to be radiotherapy, given that he has to regularly go to hospital in London, but there is no confirmation.
The King has since tried to find a difficult balance between the need to take care of himself, to rest and not expose himself to possible infections, and the duty to be seen in public to reassure his subjects. He had to give up almost all his official commitments, but last month he wanted to attend the Easter Mass at Windsor Castle and then, as per tradition, he shook hands and exchanged a few words with the many people who had gathered outside the church in the hope of seeing him, giving the impression of being well despite everything.
