LONDON — Catherine, Princess of Wales and wife to the future British king, underwent “successful” abdominal surgery at a London hospital Wednesday, and King Charles III was scheduled for a prostate procedure next week, the British royal palaces revealed in unusual back-to-back health announcements that took the country by surprise.
Catherine, 42, who has posed for photo ops looking fabulous hours after giving birth, would remain hospitalized for up to two weeks, Kensington palace said, and probably would not resume her official duties until after Easter in April. The palace did not offer additional details about what procedure was performed, other than to say it was “planned” and the issue was “noncancerous.”
Soon after, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles, 75, would undergo a “corrective procedure” next week for an enlarged prostate and postpone his public engagements “for a short period of recuperation.” A palace spokesman said the king’s condition was benign, but “His Majesty was keen to share the details of his diagnosis to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked in line with public health advice.”
The written statement provided a link to information from Britain’s National Health Service about benign prostate enlargement, advising that the condition can affect how a man urinates. The NHS noted that an enlarge prostate is “common in men aged over 50. It’s not a cancer and it’s not usually a serious threat to health.”
In Britain, men over 50 are not routinely screened for prostate cancer by checking their prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, levels, as is common in the United States. The National Health System has concluded that the PSA tests produce too many false positives and unneeded biopsies and surgery. Instead, the NHS relies on physical exams and, if indicated, an MRI.
Buckingham Palace was aware that two news events regarding royal health was extraordinary, and advised reporters, “in anticipation of questions on why this announcement has also been made today” that the king had a series of meetings and events planned for later this week at his Dumfries House estate in Scotland, “which are now being postponed on Doctor’s advice.”
Foreign dignitaries and members of the government were due to travel, “and so we needed to make people aware of the situation.”
In closing the note to reporters, the palace wrote, “apologies, appreciate this makes it a very busy day for you all.”
The British royal palaces are typically tight-lipped about the health of the royal family.
When Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 at 96, the official cause was described as “old age,” according to her death certificate. Before her death, the palace noted that the monarch was suffering from “mobility” issues to explain her use of a cane and her scaled-back schedule.
The queen’s husband, Prince Philip, also died of “old age” at 99. The palace did report on several of the prince’s earlier hospital visits — a bladder infection in 2012; exploratory abdominal surgery in 2013; and hip replacement surgery in 2018.
A month before he died in April 2021, Philip underwent “a successful procedure for his existing heart condition,” the palace said at the time.
When then-Prince Charles tested positive for the coronavirus in 2020, the palace issued a statement while he was in isolation. However, the public did not learn that his son William had also suffered from covid until six months after the fact — and then only because royal reporters found out.
The palace statement Wednesday noted that the Princess of Wales “appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”
The palace said it would only provide updates on her progress “when there is significant new information to share.”
The princess was last seen in public on Christmas Day with her family, attending church services near the royal estate in Sandringham.
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