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A secret kept at Maggie’s
Queen Camilla said she was “longing to let it out” while visiting a Maggie’s cancer support centre at the Royal Free Hospital in London on January 31, 2024, just days before Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis on February 5.
““Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult.”
In the film, Camilla recalled that “Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult,” as she knew her husband had been diagnosed but the public did not.
She said she “almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn’t the time to say,” and described looking at “everybody who was suffering and all the relations” during the engagement.
The Reuters report said the palace revealed in February 2024 that Charles was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, and that he is still receiving treatment.
Reuters also quoted Camilla telling Maggie’s chief executive Dame Laura Lee that she was “just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t.”
Laura Lee and the strain
Dame Laura Lee told Camilla in the Clarence House conversation that it was “just a week before it became public and the courage that must have taken for you…,” as the Queen reflected on the emotional strain of keeping the diagnosis private.
Camilla replied, “Well it wasn't… I was just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn't,” and she said she found herself approaching conversations with patients differently at the Royal Free centre.
She told Lee, “I was almost questioning them. I didn’t want to pry too deeply,” while adding that “normally when I went in, I was just talking to them, but I don’t know, I felt it was much more deep.”
The Reuters account said Maggie’s described the impact of Charles and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, speaking publicly about coping with cancer, and it quoted Lee saying the King’s openness “has undoubtedly helped others to be more open themselves.”
Reuters also reported that Camilla spoke about Charles’s determination to keep working, saying “Look at my husband, nothing stopped him,” and that he “just said, this is my way I'm going to cope with it.”
What it means next
The film released to mark Maggie’s 30th anniversary framed Camilla’s disclosure as tied to the charity’s support for people diagnosed with cancer and their families, with the Manchester Evening News describing her comments about the importance of support.
““shines a light on why it is so important that family and friends also get the support they need,””
In the same account, Camilla said she was “just longing to let it out but obviously I couldn’t,” and she linked that restraint to seeing “all the relations” and realizing “how important these places were.”
The Reuters report said Charles announced last December that his schedule of cancer treatment could be scaled back, and it added that he is still receiving treatment while his health is being monitored.
Reuters also reported that Maggie’s said the King’s openness had produced a measurable effect, with Lee saying it “shines a light on why it is so important that family and friends also get the support they need.”
Separately, the Manchester Evening News said Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee praised the Queen’s “courage” and said the film marked Maggie’s “30 years of providing transformational cancer support” while looking to an ambition of “having 60 centres across the UK.”
