LONDON (AP) — King Charles III’s cancer battle was detected early and the whole country is hoping for a speedy recovery, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday, as the monarch’s son Prince Harry reportedly flew from the US to visit his father.

Buckingham Palace announced Monday evening that the royal had begun outpatient treatment for an unknown type of cancer. It was discovered during his recent hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate, but was a “separate problem” and not prostate cancer, the palace said.

“Thankfully this was recognized early on,” Sunak said on BBC radio, adding that as prime minister he would “continue to communicate with him as usual.”

“Many families across the country who hear this will have been touched by the same thing and know what it means to everyone,” Sunak said. “So we’re just going to keep going through it and hope we get through this as quickly as possible.”

Less than 18 months into a reign he famously waited decades to begin, the 75-year-old monarch has suspended his public engagements but will continue to carry out the business of state – including weekly meetings with the prime minister – and will not relinquish his constitutional roles as Head of State.

The palace said Charles, who generally enjoys good health, “remains entirely positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public service as soon as possible.”

Charles became king in September 2022 when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.

News of the royal’s diagnosis comes as his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, recovers from abdominal surgery for which she spent about two weeks in hospital.

While she recovers, Kate is taking a break from her royal duties. Her husband, Prince William, heir to the throne, also took time off to care for her and the couple’s three children, but is scheduled to preside over a ceremony at Windsor Castle and a charity dinner on Wednesday.

Charles deviated from royal tradition by being open about his prostate disease. For centuries, the British royal family remained secretive about health issues.

Disclosing information about his cancer diagnosis – albeit on a limited basis – is another break with tradition.

When Britain’s monarchs were truly in power, news of disease was withheld for fear it would weaken their authority. The habit of secrecy persisted after royals became constitutional figureheads.

The British public was not told that Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, suffered from lung cancer before his death in February 1952 at the age of 56, and some historians have claimed that the king himself was not told that he was terminally ill be.

In the final years of Elizabeth’s life, the public was only told that the Queen was suffering from “mobility problems” as she began missing public appearances towards the end of her life. The death certificate only stated “age” as the cause of death.

When and how much to disclose about illness remains a difficult issue for many public figures. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been criticized for failing to tell President Joe Biden or other key leaders that he was being treated for prostate cancer, even as he was in intensive care for post-surgical complications in January.

Buckingham Palace said the king “chose to share his diagnosis to avoid speculation and in the hope that it may contribute to the public’s understanding of all people affected by cancer around the world.”

The king’s younger son, Prince Harry, who stepped down from royal duties and moved to California in 2020, has spoken to his father about the diagnosis and “will travel to the United Kingdom in the coming days to see His Majesty,” the office said Harry and his wife Meghan. British media reported that he was traveling from Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Charles came to the throne with the intention of presiding over a leaner monarchy, with fewer senior royals performing public ceremonial duties. But with Charles and Kate both temporarily sidelined, Prince Harry himself exiled to California, and Prince Andrew largely banned from the public eye due to his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the royal “firm” risks becoming seriously overwhelmed.

William and Charles’ wife, Queen Camilla, are expected to take on additional public engagements during the royal’s treatment. There are currently no plans to call on “councillors of state” – senior members of the royal family, including the queen and the heir to the throne – to represent the monarch in constitutional tasks such as signing laws and receiving ambassadors.

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