Britain’s King Charles will miss next week’s Commonwealth Day events and his wife, Queen Camilla, will take over as he continues to receive cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday.

King Charles, 75, was forced to resign from public office after he announced last month that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer less than 18 months after taking office.

As a result, the king, who is the head of state of the 56-nation Commonwealth of Nations that evolved from the British Empire, will not be able to attend Monday’s annual celebrations at Westminster Abbey and the subsequent reception.

Queen Camilla will lead the senior royals in attendance, which includes heir to the throne Prince William but not his wife Kate Middleton, who has also been absent from public life this year due to non-cancer-related abdominal surgery. Sickness.

Although King Charles is carrying out his official state duties and meeting with Finance Secretary Jeremy Hunt the day before he delivers his budget statement to parliament on Tuesday, it is unclear when he will resume his normal public role.

The king and Kate Middleton were both absent, while Prince William missed an engagement last week due to unspecified “personal issues,” leading to a surge in speculation and conspiracy theories on social media.

The British royal family rarely releases details of any medical conditions, treating them as a purely private matter, but its policy of maintaining a dignified silence about rumors is coming under pressure.

Writing in the Daily Mail, royal expert Richard Kay said: “The most cursory glance at the speculation rampant on social media would lead even the most unrepentant royal aide to believe that there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding public figures. Wherever there is a vacuum, it will be filled.”

Kate Middleton’s office said it would provide only “significant” updates on her condition and that she was not expected to resume public duties until after Easter.

The British Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that she would take part in the annual military parade in June. However Kensington Palace is responsible for confirming her attendance at future events and has yet to do so.

The very next day, US celebrity news site TMZ published the first photo of the Princess of Wales since her January surgery, sitting in the passenger seat of a car driven by her mother near Windsor Castle.

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