King Charles III seems to be carrying on with an optimistic outlook.
During his visit with families affected by the knife attack in Southport on Tuesday, which tragically left three young children dead, the British monarch was asked how he was doing amid his ongoing cancer treatment.
Although Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have consistently stated that they will not provide regular updates on the health and recovery of Kate Middleton—who announced her cancer diagnosis in March—and Charles, the 75-year-old offered a brief response: “I’m not too bad,” according to Express.
Buckingham Palace announced the King’s diagnosis on February 5, a week after he was released from a London hospital following unrelated treatment for an enlarged prostate. The specific type and stage of Charles’s cancer remain unclear.
Palace officials have confirmed that Charles does not have prostate cancer, according to The New York Times. The King then began “regular treatments” and postponed public duties, as stated by the Palace.
On April 27, Buckingham Palace reported, per the BBC, that King Charles’s progress had been encouraging, and his medical team was “sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that the King is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties.”
On April 30, Charles and his wife Camilla visited the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in London to show their support for cancer research and emphasize the importance of early diagnosis. The King was smiling and looked healthy during the visit, and when asked about his health by one patient, he replied, “I’m alright, thank you.”
Despite Charles’s positive update and return to work, a palace insider recently told the Daily Beast that Charles is “still unwell.”
“Charles is doing a magnificent job fighting his cancer, but he is still unwell. It is being fantastically well managed to give the impression that everything is fine, but it is noticeable to those of us who are aware of such things that the engagements are shorter and carefully scheduled; for example, he sometimes arrives by helicopter at the last minute before being choppered away and presumably collapsing in an armchair at home.”
The insider added, “To be brutally honest, the once-popular notion that he will live to a similar age as his mother [94] or father [99] is now less widespread.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s official cause of death at the age of 96 was listed as “old age” on her death certificate.