King Charles 'in good spirits' ahead of treatment for 'benign' prostate condition

King Charles will visit hospital for treatment for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace has announced, as it’s said the monarch is in “good spirits”.

King Charles will be visiting hospital this month as he is set to receive treatment for an “enlarged prostate”. In a statement released on 18th January, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King’s condition is “benign” and that he will undergo a “corrective procedure” next week. It’s not been confirmed by the Palace what the exact procedure is, however, the statement does reiterate that King Charles seeking treatment for an enlarged prostate is something very “common” for men. 

"In common with thousands of men each year, The King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate," the statement declared. “His Majesty’s condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure.”

According to the NHS, the condition is non-cancerous, is frequently seen in men over 50, and is “usually a serious threat to health” either. According to the BBC, it's reportedly understood that King Charles wants his own experience of receiving prostate treatment to “help raise awareness” and to encourage others to go for check-ups.

Buckingham Palace went on to explain that His Majesty’s “public engagements will be postponed” for a “short period of recuperation”. This suggests that it won’t be long before King Charles undertakes royal duties again. 

As per BBC, royal sources have claimed His Majesty is “in good spirits” ahead of his treatment and “in good form”. Meanwhile, when asked about her husband during a visit in Aberdeen on 18th January, Queen Camilla gave a positive response. 

"He's fine, thank you very much," she said, as revealed by the BBC. "Looking forward to getting back to work."

The Buckingham Palace statement sharing news of King Charles’s upcoming hospital visit came just hours after another medical-related message was shared, this time by Kensington Palace regarding the Princess of Wales. The Palace explained that the future Queen had undergone “abdominal surgery” that was both “planned” and “successful”.

"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery,” the statement declared. “The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.”

Kensington Palace shared that Her Highness “hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible” as well as her “wish that her personal medical information remains private”. In light of this, they will only be providing updates on her progress “when there is significant new information to share”.

It’s been suggested that the release of both statements so close to each other, is thought to have been something that was unavoidable due to King Charles having scheduled engagements on Thursday and Friday, with the BBC reporting that these have now been cancelled on “medical advice” ahead of King Charles’s treatment.