'GENTLE STEPS'
King Charles to go to church for Easter Sunday but will not host lunch to protect health after cancer diagnosis
The service will see fewer royals than usual to 'shield the King from infection risk'
KING Charles will go to church tomorrow but will not host lunch afterwards — as he takes “gentle steps” towards returning to public duty since his cancer diagnosis.
Charles and Queen Camilla will walk to and from St George’s Chapel, in Windsor, after agreeing changes to the Royal Family’s traditional Easter diary to protect his health.
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Tomorrow’s service will see fewer royals than usual to “shield the King from infection risk”.
William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three children will be absent as Kate undergoes her own cancer treatment.
Sources describe the plans as “turning the dial” toward the King’s return, including a gradual increase in hosting guests for engagements at Buckingham Palace as summer approaches.
Last week, Peter Phillips revealed the King is "frustrated" that his recovery from cancer treatment is taking longer than “he would want it to".
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The son of the Princess Anne said the monarch was “in good spirits”, but was “pushing” his staff to be able to return to his duties after beginning "pioneering" treatment last month.
Mr Phillips, whose sister Zara is a former Olympian equestrian, told Sky News Australia: "I think ultimately he's hugely frustrated.
"He's frustrated that he can't get on and do everything that he wants to be able to do.
"But he is very pragmatic, he understands that there's a period of time that he really needs to focus on himself.
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"But at the same time he is always pushing his staff and everybody - his doctors and nurses - to be able to say 'actually can I do this, can I do that?'"
Charles has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since early February after he was treated for an enlarged prostate.
King Charles leaves Windsor
The Palace has not confirmed the type of cancer, but it is understood not to be the prostate.
Why Charles bravely shared his cancer diagnosis
KING Charles has bravely broken with royal protocol by sharing his cancer diagnosis.
Senior royals have in past been tight-lipped about their health battles.
The last top royal diagnosed with cancer was Charles’s grandfather George VI.
Heavy smoker George had his left lung removed for “structural abnormalities” in September 1951, months before he died.
The “abnormalities” were actually a life-threatening carcinoma, but the public never learned about George’s cancer ordeal.
Buckingham Palace said Charles wanted to share his cancer diagnosis to boost “public understanding” for cancer patients worldwide
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